Don't Lose Your Mind
by RiddlePanda
Summary: Banno always saw Proto-Zero and Gou as his biggest failures. Now that he had the two in his possession again, he hoped he could salvage them into SOMETHING useful for his plans. The aftermath of Banno's experiments to them would put Gou and Chase into a literal "fight or flight" path.
1. Chapter 1

Reposting from my AO3 account.

* * *

The words Gou wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue, but for whatever reason, he couldn't say them as he stared into the pain filled eyes of the man he was holding in his arms. A split second later, he was pushed to the ground.

Time seemed to slow down as he painfully tried to get up, watching in horror as Chase, who had been dying in his arms a moment before, ran toward the disgusting mockery of a Rider that was unfortunately his father. Purple sparks and lightning coursed through the Roidmude's body and as Chase grabbed Banno and started to try to push him back away from Gou, his body began to glow purple.

Gou braced himself to jump up to stop Chase from whatever he was trying to do, but at that moment, the purple light expanded and exploded, forcing the teen to shield his eyes. A moment later, he looked up and his heart dropped to his stomach as he saw the 000 Core that was the only thing left of the Roidmude. His eyes grew wide as the Core shivered and began to spark with the same energy.

"CHASE! PLEASE DON'T! PLEASE HOLD ON!"

He tried getting up, to try to stop the same thing to happen to Chase's Core. If it survived…they could bring him back, give him a new body. Chase couldn't die…not before he had a chance to tell him that…

An energy beam struck the Core, surrounding it within an energy bubble and stopping the explosion that was moments from happening and Gou froze in horror as he heard the insane cackling of his father. Banno appeared in his line of sight, a gold beam coming out of his hand that was attached to the orb that Chase's Core was in.

"Did you really think THAT was enough to stop me? Despite all your little "upgrades", you're still Proto-Zero, still pathetic and useless as my worthless son over there. Still vastly inferior to my finished Roidmudes and my beautiful Sigma Circular. Still… I may be able to use you for one more little experiment. And perhaps…salvage my other biggest failure over there as well."

Gou saw Banno raise his other hand and pain coursed through his entire body, aggravating his previous injuries to a life threatening level. He began to black out, watching as Banno walked closer to him.

—–

Gou wearily opened his left eye, immediately noticing and feeling that the right side of his head was heavily bandaged. An oxygen mask was covering his mouth and nose and as Gou slowly turned his head, noticed that he had a few IVs in his bandaged and bloody left arm, pumping whatever they contained into his body. He had heavy shackles on his wrist, right below his elbow, and right below his shoulder. He surmised that his right arm was under a similar treatment.

His body was mostly numb but he could still feel a few things, mainly the shackles on his body and that there was a sheet covering his upper body. His chest had a dull twinge, like he had a wound there, but whatever painkillers that were no doubt being fed to him through the IVs kept the brunt of the pain away.

"Ah, Gou…so you've finally woken up. Granted it was only about an hour and a half, but I had a limited amount of time and supplies. Still…despite not having the resources I needed, I think I did a decent job with you."

Banno appeared in Gou's vision, next to his head, and proceeded to run his fingers tenderly through the teen's hair. Gou tried to shirk away from the touch, tears pooling in his uncovered eye.

"I admit that I am surprised, despite that explosion, that there were salvageable pieces of Proto-Zero that I could use. I did have to resort to using a few spare Spider, Cobra, and Bat pieces, but your body is remarkably able to adapt to a lot that you're put through. Maybe I should have reconsidered calling you a failure as quickly as I did. Still…if I had, I wouldn't have had THIS opportunity."

"Wh…what…are…?"

"Oh Gou…you're smarter than this, even WITH all the drugs running through your system and impeding you. But, since you can't figure it out…I decided to take my two biggest failures and try to re-purpose you. Basically…combine you. Refit parts of your body with Proto-zero's body."

Gou's eye grew wide and he tried to move his body, move anything, but the numbing agent still in his veins resulted in his task being futile. He started breathing heavily, trying his hardest not to cry.

"Ah ah, calm down Gou! You're only going to exaggerate your heart and make your blood pump faster. I have slowed the blood flow and have been pumping fresh blood in you, but like I said, I have limited resources. But…since you're awake and want to act like this, I guess it's time for the final step. I've already installed the Core Driviar you need next to your heart, now it's time for the Core."

Banno removed the sheet from Gou's upper body before walking away and the teen was glad for the oxygen mask obscuring most of his vision of his open chest cavity clamped with hemostats to control the bleeding. Part of his ribcage had been removed in order to get to his heart and surrounding organs. He saw a glint of metal next to his beating heart that was no doubt the Core Driviar Banno had talked about.

The scientist returned, carrying the orb that had the 000 Core in it, Chase's Core. The Core looked sluggish in the orb, but upon getting closer to Gou's body, it began to try to ram into the sides of the orb. Banno touched the orb, sending a shock through it as it popped, and the Core fell still, twitching feebly in Banno's hand.

"Now, if you two will behave as I do this final procedure, I just MIGHT let you two keep a few of your memories as I reprogram you, mainly the ones where you've worked together. After all, you two need that information to use your new Rider form I've created using those little Signal Bikes of yours."

Gou shut his eye as Banno placed Chase's Core in his chest, right above his heart and the Core Driviar. Tears leaked from his eye as he felt the Core squirm in his chest as Banno attached it to his heart and Driviar.

"There…that wasn't so hard, was it son?" Banno cupped Gou's face gently, wiping his tear streaks away with his bloody hand. The teen opened his eye, hatred oozing from it and he stared as the man above him chuckled and removed his hand. The scientist turned to the machines and pressed a sequence of buttons.

"Alright Gou and I guess now Proto-Zero, I'll have to knock you unconscious again while I finish sewing you up and activating your new systems and the necessary task of rebooting your program and memories. I should think of a new name for you as well. Heh, funny little story for you two. The day I activated Proto-zero was the day you were born Gou. So…in essence, you two are brothers of a sort. Twins even. I guess it was only natural for you two to be combined like this."

The gas in the mask began to smell different and Gou tried his best to not inhale so Banno couldn't finish his work. There was a tingle and a familiar voice joined his conscious thoughts.

 _"Let it happen Gou. We need rest. Don't worry…we'll beat him. Together."_

"Okay…Chase. I trust you." Gou closed his eye, letting the anesthesia knock him out.


	2. Chapter 2

After saluting Heart, Kiriko carefully helped Shinnosuke sit down on the grass, his exhaustion finally setting in. Although she was worried about not finding her brother or Chase in the last place Rinna had told her that their tracking devices had been and had only been able to find Shift Dead Heat half buried under some rubble and bits of broken and burnt machinery, she knew that the two had worked well together as a team and that they would get themselves to safety once their fights were over. She just hoped that since all the fighting was over, the two could finally acknowledge each other's friendship. Shinnosuke was her priority now since he was trying hard not to pass out and she didn't know the extent of his injuries.

"Kiriko! Shinnosuke!"

The two looked up to see Rinna and Otta running up to them, unfortunately without Gou or Chase.

Rinna looked at Kiriko sadly. "We looked everywhere in the basement, even the next floor and outside, but there's no sign of either of them. I know Gou was more injured that he let on, so they couldn't have got far after fighting Banno. I can't even pick up Signal Mach or Chaser on my computer. Kiriko…I don't think…"

"The reason you can't pick up anything on that outdated hunk of junk is because I re-purposed everything to suit my plans. It's…unfortunate that you defeated my Sigma Circular. I had hoped to use my latest acquisition to help govern my new world…but after I have my new enforcer kill all of you, no one will be able to oppose me the next time."

The four looked in horror as Banno walked up to them, still in his Gold Drive form, still without a scratch on his body. The scientist laughed. "I'll tell you one thing before you all die, something to put your minds at ease. Gou and Proto-Zero did give it their all to defeat me, but it wasn't near enough."

Banno snapped his fingers. "Boy! Come on out and show them your new improvements that daddy gave you!"

Kiriko couldn't hold back her sobs as she watched Gou walk up beside the gold Rider, his clothes ripped and dirty. His hair was in his eyes, but the rest of his face and his body had the same posture he had adopted when he had been pretending to be under Freeze's influence.

Banno ruffled the teen's hair. "Unfortunately I didn't have any other clothes than the ones he was wearing, but that won't really matter. I've configured the new Signal Bike to give him perpetual energy. He won't have to de-transform at all. Now…son, why don't you show them your new power?"

"Yes Father."

Gou held up a Signal Bike which was a mashed up combination of the Signal Mach and Signal Chaser and placed it in his now completely black Driver, noting the chills the four got when they heard Banno voicing the announcements.

"Henshin."

 **RIDER MACHASER!**

The new Rider form was a blend of both Mach and Chaser, with bits of Chase's Mashin form. Machaser summoned both the Zenrin Shooter and Break Gunner and pointed them toward Shinnosuke and Kiriko.

Shinnosuke quickly whipped the Drive Driver around his waist, pushing Kiriko behind him and grabbed Tridoron in the Shift Brace. He was in no position to be fighting after having a near-death experience and after Heart beat his human body before dying, but he had to try his hardest to protect Kiriko and the others, even if it WAS Gou.

Machaser kept slowly walking closer to the four, guns still pointed at Shinnosuke, ready to pull the triggers at any moment. Just as Shinnosuke was about to transform, Machaser suddenly whipped around and shot Banno repeatedly before running up to him and started punching and kicking the shocked scientist.

"Machaser! What the hell are you doing?! You're supposed to be trying to kill them, not me! I reprogrammed you! Stop this and obey the orders I gave you!"

The Signal Ax flew into the Rider's hand and Machaser began to attack the gold Rider. "Sorry to disappoint you again, but both of us have a thing with brainwashing not really sticking. It's a thing we share as being failures of yours!"

The ax flew down, striking Banno across the chest like Banno had done to Chase hours before and the suit began to spark and crackle before the transformation was undone. The Roidmude body had been in the suit, shook and exploded, leaving the Driver quivering on the ground.

Signal Machaser was inserted into the ax and Machaser pushed the button to activate it's finisher attack.

"W…wait! Don't do this! Think of the power I've given you! I can give you so much more! You're my greatest creation, even better than Sigma Circular! Don't do this! Gou! Proto…!"

" **ITTEIYO!"**

The Signal Ax glowed purple as the Rider raised the ax up and swung down, smashing the black Driver to unrecognizable bits. Machaser staggered for a second, dropping the ax, which clanged to the ground. He undid the transformation and Gou dropped to his knees.

"Gou!" Kiriko rushed to the teen, dropping on her knees in front of him, pulling him into a hug. He flinched for a second, before shakily returning the hug and choked out a sob.

"Nee-chan…we did it…we beat him. After what he did… After…he…"

Kiriko began to smooth down Gou's hair, trying to get his bangs out of his eyes as tears began to form in the corners of hers. She was trying to force herself to not cry. She needed to be strong for him. "I know Gou. It's finally over. Chase…he's… he's gone… isn't he?"

" _Kiriko…"_

Time seemed to stop when she heard **HIS** voice, the only sounds were the rapid clicking of Rinna's computer as the woman typed, mumbling about how the combo Signal Bike shouldn't work.

Gou lifted up his head, looking Kiriko in the eyes, and the woman immediately knew what Banno had done as one eye from each boy stared back at her. A few seconds later, the lids began to droop and Kiriko slowly lowered Gou, and now Chase's, head in her lap.

Otta came up to her and lifted the limp body in his arms. "I've got him Kiriko. Let's all get back to the others and get his and Tomari's injuries healed up."

"Them. You've got…them Otta."

Otta, Shinnosuke, and Rinna all stared at her in confusion and Kiriko smiled sadly. "Chase…is in there with Gou. Banno put Chase in Gou somehow."

Shinnosuke pulled her into a hug and Kiriko let the tears fall that she had been holding in, sobbing into his chest.


	3. Chapter 3

" _Proto-Zero! I'm glad you're still functional after all this time!"_

" _Professor Steinbelt... You are...a belt..."_

" _Yes Proto-Zero, I unfortunately was killed by the finished products of the research Professor Banno and I did with you several years ago. However, I transferred my consciousness into my computer and then into this belt. Using it, you'll be able to transform into a warrior I've been creating to defeat whatever the Roidmudes are planning to do."_

" _Roidmudes?"_

" _The finished machines that we based off of you. Unfortunately, Banno made them evil behind my back and I ended our partnership. They killed him as well as me and are wanting to enslave humanity. I need you to fight and destroy them and protect the humans they try to hurt using the power I've given you."_

" _What happens when I've destroyed them all?"_

" _The Core Driviars in your bodies are too dangerous for people to understand. Once the Roidmudes are destroyed, I'll seal everything that's left with one until humanity is ready for them."_

" _What...about me? Am I not a Roidmude since they are based on me? Will I be destroyed? What if I destroy them, but humans still need a protector?"_

" _If the task is done right, then humanity won't need a protector. And I wouldn't want you to fall into enemy hands and have this technology stolen and people revive the Roidmudes. If you survive this, I'll seal you up as well since your mission I gave you will be over."_

* * *

Gou woke up to muffled shouting coming from in front of him and blearily opened his eyes, noting that he was in the passenger seat of the Tridoron, which was in the ruined Drive Pit. The entire Tokujo team was in there and it appeared they were shouting at Krim, who was on his belt base when he wasn't on Shinnosuke's waist. He noticed his and Chase's weapons and his Driver were on the hood and there was a blue force field around the vehicle.

The teen grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door, but the door wouldn't budge, even after pushing the unlock button. His head started to clear away from sleepiness and he heard the words "sealed away." He immediately started banging on the door, forcing the shouting to stop momentarily, before he saw his sister and Shinnosuke try to get around the force field and Rinna and Otta start throwing bits of the broken Pit at the blue light.

A minute later, the force field disappeared and Kiriko wrenched open the door and pulled Gou out, holding him close against her body as she got the teen as far away from the car as possible and sat down with him on the couch by the door. The force field appeared again just before Shinnosuke could reach Krim.

"What were you thinking Krim?! Gou's still part human! He's not just a machine you can lock away! And we've got to figure out a way to separate him and Chase!" Shinnosuke started shouting at the belt.

Gou looked at his sister confused. "Nee-chan...what...what happened?"

Kiriko glared angrily in the direction of Krim before looking back to the teen. "Krim kidnapped you two from the Emergency Drive Pit while you were unconscious and while we were reporting on everything that happened. He was going to lock you and Chase up with him and the rest of the Drive arsenal since your body is part Roidmude and you have a Core Driviar now."

"What?! L...lock Chase and me up!?" Gou immediately stood up, breathing heavily.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN!" Krim's shouting shook the Pit lightly. "Yes, I was going to lock Gou's body up with me, but only so I could it in stasis while I worked on a way to separate Proto-Zero from him and fix it to where Gou didn't have to rely on the Driviar to work his Roidmude parts. I only had Gou's best interests in mind! Don't you think he's suffered enough!? Do you really want him to be conscious while I figure out how his body works? As soon as I fixed him, I would wake him up and bring him back up here!"

"Wh...what about Chase?"

Gou's question was ignored as Kiriko stormed up to the belt. "And how long Krim?! How long do you think that would take? A month? A year? Ten years?! Do you know how traumatizing that would have made Gou if he wakes up and ten years has gone by?! The last thing he would remember was falling asleep in my lap and then suddenly everyone he's known and loved is years older and he's still stuck in his teenage body?! How do you think that would make him feel?! That's NOT having Gou's best interests in mind!"

"What about Chase!?" Gou had asked louder.

"Kiriko! The Core Driviars are dangerous when in the wrong hands! You just saw firsthand of the damage they can do! What if Gou fell into enemy hands and they figured out the technology?! They could bring back the Roidmudes or worse! Banno did unforgivable things to Gou! Do you want him to relive all that?! Locked up with me in stasis is the ONLY safe place for him!"

"WHAT ABOUT CHASE!?"

Everyone turned to look at Gou glaring angrily at Krim. "What about Chase? Did you all forget that he's in here too? What happens to him? What happens if and when you do figure out how to separate us and "fix" me? Don't either of us have a choice in what we want to do?"

Gou closed his eyes and had a concentrated look on his face. When he opened them, his face grew stoic. _"My original mission was to destroy all the Roidmudes and protect humans while doing it. Once that was over, I would be deactivated and put back into stasis like I had been in once Krim and Banno were finished with their research of me. Krim is right, the Core Driviars are too dangerous to be used. I wouldn't want Gou to be harmed any more than he's been harmed. If something were to happen to this body if we were allowed to stay, either the human or Roidmude parts, there might not be a way to fix it. It...would be best if we were put in stasis."_

Chase gave Gou back control of his body and the teen sat down heavily on the couch, hugging himself. He felt someone touch his shoulder and he involuntarily flinched. He looked up at Krim, tears threatening to fall. "C...can I have some time? Some time to...myself...before...?"

Krim sighed. "Gou...I'll begin working on your body as soon as I lock the Pit up. We need to get started as soon as we can."

"Pl...please Krim? Just...just an hour? At least...let me go get a change of clothes from my apartment? Enjoy one last bike ride? Something?"

"...Alright. One hour. I'll even give you a ten minute window so you can have the full hour. But no more. Proto-Zero, I know you can hear us. Make sure he gets back here in that time. I've seen you can control his body. Do it if you have to."

Gou's body twitched. _"Yes Krim. Might I suggest that we take Ride Chaser? It is faster than Ride Macher. Gou, you will have more time at your apartment and can cover more ground on a bike ride."_

Gou's body twitched again and Gou was back in control. The force field lowered and Gou looked at Macher reluctantly, before climbing on Chase's bike. The garage door had been blown away from the Roidmude attacks and Gou drove off, not looking back.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Gou…"_

Gou grumbled, eyes firmly on the road as he drove Ride Chaser to his apartment. "Not now Chase. I'm busy concentrating on the road and I'm not used to driving Chaser at all. …Couldn't even ride my own bike one last time… Wait til we're at my apartment. We're almost there."

Gou checked the clock on his phone to see ten minutes had passed as soon as he got into his apartment. He selected some clean clothes and got changed and grabbed a soda from his fridge. He sat at the counter, drinking and savoring each sip since he didn't know when he'd have one again.

" _Gou…can we talk now?"_

Gou closed his eyes and sighed, letting Chase's presence have easier access over his body so they could talk without having to relinquish control each time. The two had realized they could do this when they woke up in Banno's makeshift lab after the scientist was done with all of the modifications done to Gou's body. It had come in handy when they had to give the illusion they were under Banno's control.

"What is there to talk about Chase? That we've basically had everything stripped away from us today? That we're going to be locked up against our will…YOU even more than me? Is that how you see yourself Chase?! Just some machine that can be turned off and on again when it suits someone's needs? Just…damn it Chase! What about your dream? To learn about humanity? You can't DO that when you're locked up down there! And I wouldn't be able to…to tell you…that…I'm so…"

" _What you are about to say is something you wish to do when we are face to face, to give it a more meaningful significance. I suggest that once we have our own separate bodies, you can properly say what I know you want to say to me. Since…I've seen your memories and your thoughts…I know. I know. …I also know that you wish to find a way out of this…as do I. Do you know anywhere we can go that they won't find us?"_

"What? But…what you said back in the Pit…"

" _I have learned that telling little white lies to make people feel better about a situation is sometimes the only way to push a bad situation in your favor. Krim…does not know the fact that I can lie to him now. He has not talked to me about any of my experiences with understanding humans and still believes I will tell him the entire truth like I was originally programmed to do. We have forty minutes…fifty if we count Krim's extra ten to get back. Is that enough time to find a place?"_

"You're seriously on board with running away? I…didn't think you had it in you Chase. I guess you have grown a lot."

Gou felt Chase grow silent, a habit he knew the Roidmude did when he was thinking.

" _I…do not wish to be put in stasis nor do I want to remain a tool to be used whenever I am needed. I have enjoyed the opportunities you have all given me to understand humanity and wish to experience even more that this world has to give. I felt so proud to be given a chance to get a driver's license and that first time that Shinnosuke let me drive to the crime scene…I cherish that memory. I was so happy that you agreed to have a drink with me in the cafeteria without any provocation. And now that the fighting is over…I'd like to have more moments like that."_

Gou smiled. "Don't worry Chase. I'll make sure you have plenty of memories. Now…as for a place… It can't be here in Japan. Krim would get Shin-nii-san to get every Police Department in Japan to hunt us down. The only place else that I know is America, but Professor Hendrickson is there. We'd have to avoid him…but he can't be in every lab of his at once. I know his one in Arizona is vacant right now. He's in the New York one at this time of year. We can stay there for a bit before moving on to a more permanent place and figuring out a way to separate us and get you a new body. There HAS to be a way."

" _I have confidence that you will Gou. In the meantime, gather what you need and then let me take control. I'll have to tweak Ride Chaser's tracking device to show the wrong information. I can remotely set it to drive to a false location once we get to the airport. That is why I insisted we take my bike since I can access its systems. You might want to leave your phone in case they can track it. …I am worried they will be able to track us since you will be using your real name for your plane ticket."_

Gou stopped packing for a second and smirked. "Actually…I already have that covered. I didn't exactly come back into this country as Gou Shijima…for reasons. Um…with me being partially Roidmude…can I do that changing my appearance and clothes thing? We won't have time to do it manually…"

Gou could feel Chase's presence search for something. _"Yes…but it's…a bit difficult if you've never done it before. You'll have to let me be in control so I can do it. I'll teach you later on, once we are safe."_

—–

"Here's your ticket Mr. Inaba. I hope you had a wonderful time on your visit. Have a nice flight!"

Gou breathed a sigh of relief as he ran a hand through his slicked down hair, a result of Chase changing Gou's appearance to look like a preppier version of himself to throw off anyone trying to find them. He looked down at his watch Chase had created, noting that they had twenty minutes before him and Chase were to be due back.

Since the two had got to the airport just in the nick of time, having bought their ticket online to save time, Gou didn't have long to wait for his carry-on bag to be checked or him going through the metal detector. He had been worried about that, only for Chase to tell him that he could fix the detector to not detect Gou's metal parts. He barely made it to his flight before they closed the door, being the last to board.

As the clock struck the time they were supposed to be back at the Pit, the plane took off, carrying the two to where they hoped they could have their freedom.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chase woke up when he felt himself being picked up. Although he didn't currently have a body, therefore eyes, he was still able to sense and see everything. The orb he was in made everything muted, but he could still see he was in some kind of makeshift lab. Banno was carrying him to a table in the middle of the room._

 _As they got closer to the table, Chase realized in horror on WHO was on the table. He was heavily bandaged and shackled, with a dozen or so IVs in him, but Chase would recognize Gou anywhere. Realization struck the Roidmude Core hard. He had failed. He had failed to protect Gou from harm. Whatever Banno had done to Gou was his fault._

 _Chase was still weak from his Core almost exploding, but he still tried to ram the orb, trying to break it. If he could break free, he could find help. He knew Banno wasn't done with Gou, but if he could find Shinnosuke or even Heart, maybe they could save Gou from whatever else the scientist had planned._

 _A shock pulsated through the orb that popped it, sapping Chase's bit of energy and he shuddered in Banno's hand. He felt himself be lowered down and Banno began to attach him to what he finally realized was Gou's heart and a Core Driviar. Trying one last attempt to get free proved futile as he began to be overloaded with all of Gou's thoughts and memories with each bit of his Core that the scientist attached to the teen._

 _Chase didn't want to pry into Gou's life, but bits of the last few months kept bringing themselves forward to him as he was integrated into the teen's body. The last memory that came to him threw him into the last moments before his body exploded and through Gou's eyes, he saw everything that had happened, as well as knowing Gou's thoughts while it happened._

 _His essence tingled and Chase was suddenly able to actually see through his right eye, although it was a dull light since it was heavily bandaged. As the Roidmude became aware of his new surroundings in Gou's body, he realized that parts of the teen's body had been replaced with Roidmude parts…HIS parts._

 _Chase sensed a change in Gou. The teen was trying to not breathe the gas coming from the mask on his face. He concentrated and felt himself connect to Gou's consciousness._

" _Let it happen Gou. We need rest. Don't worry…we'll beat him. Together."_

 _The tension Gou had began to fall and Chase felt him starting to relax. "Okay…Chase. I trust you."_

—–

Gou yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Since the flight to Arizona was about twelve hours, the teen had decided to get some much needed sleep that wasn't induced by chemicals or falling into unconsciousness due to overworking his body. He checked his watch and saw they only had about two hours left before their flight touched down in Phoenix.

He closed his eyes again and nudged Chase's consciousness to wake up, since they had decided they both needed to be rested up once they landed.

"Hey Chase, we have two hours before we land. The professor's lab is about twenty minutes away from the airport if we use a taxi…or we could walk there. That would be one less person to see us clearly. Of course…it will be night by the time we land…"

" _I'd suggest walking then. We'd be able to run in short bursts without triggering… Gou, are you okay?"_

"Hmm? I'm fine. Just thinking about supplies we might need once we land."

" _No…I don't mean… Gou, I know of your hatred of Roidmudes due to my own experiences and unfortunately getting access to your memories. Now that you are partially one… are you okay?"_

"Chase… I… I'm okay. I wish things had turned out differently but… I've accepted the fact that this is what I am now, what WE are now. It's fitting…that I've become the thing I hated…"

" _Gou…"_

"Although…in the long run, I guess this was a good thing to happen. I don't think either of us would have been able to survive that situation, had Banno decided to kill me instead of doing this. We're both alive because of it. And the fact that he decided to mainly use your parts instead of Roidmude parts he had access to proved to be his downfall since he couldn't easily modify and reprogram you like he could with the others. It proves that you were able to grow beyond any expectations that both he and Krim were able to predict about you."

" _Do not count yourself out of that equation. You have proved your own worth and evolution throughout the time I have known you. You are responsible for being able to resist Banno's reprogramming just as much as me. We… make a good team."_

"We always made a good team. I just wish I had realized it sooner. Maybe then…we could have…"

" _It is in the past now and you are not the person you once were Gou. I do not mean that in reference to our current position, I mean it in seeing the personal mental growth you have gone through. The fact you see me as a friend now is proof of that."_

"…Thanks Chase. I'm still going to properly apologize to you when we figure out a way to get you a new body. I owe you that."

—

Once the plane landed and the two made sure there were no cops looking for them, Gou set off in the direction of the lab Professor Hendrickson had in the city. The teen hadn't had much chance to properly test out his modified body, so the journey there left his human parts a bit sore from overuse.

Gou started walking up to a regular looking house, pulling out a key from his bag. "The lab's underneath the house. The professor and I spent the most time here since he wanted me to at least have a few normal teenage experiences while I was training and testing the Mach system. It's going to be great sleeping in a normal bed again."

Gou threw his bag on the kitchen table and grabbed a soda from the fridge, thankful they were still in date since the house hadn't been used since he ran off to Japan. Taking a sip, he began walking toward the basement door where the lab was.

" _Gou, wouldn't turning on the systems in the lab cause Professor Hendrickson to know that this lab is operational? He would immediately know where we are and contact Krim."_

"Fortunately, the professor is very cautious about his work and keeps all his labs systems separate from each other in case one gets compromised. That way, none of his other lab locations or research would be able to be accessed. It was a bit of a pain hauling about twenty or so external hard drives with new data when we moved labs, but his methods proved to be to an advantage to us."

Gou flipped on the light switch to the lab and froze when he saw one of the rolling chairs turn and a man stand up. His eyes widened. "P…Professor Harley?!"

"Ah Gou my boy and Chase too! I was wondering when the two of you would finally get down here. I've been watching you on the outside monitors. I know you must be starving and tired. Why don't we order some pizzas and then get you to bed. We can start on whatever you had planned down here tomorrow when you're rested."

The man walked toward Gou and pulled the teen into a tight hug. "You're safe here. We can talk tomorrow, but for now, just trust me that you're safe."

Gou's body flinched as Chase, who had taken over the body in case they needed to run, relinquished control to Gou in order for the boy to make the choice. Gou shakily returned the hug. "Okay Professor. I…trust you."

He hoped he made the right decision.


	6. Chapter 6

_Proto-Zero struggled weakly against his bonds upon regaining consciousness._

" _Ah my friend, I see you're awake. Don't worry, you'll be let go soon once we undo that horrible programming you've been given to destroy your own kind. I can't believe there was a Roidmude that none of us knew about. Freeze! Brain! He's awake!"_

 _Three Roidmudes with the numbers 001, 002, and 003, each representing the three different types he had information on, appeared in Proto-Zero's line of vision. Although their forms didn't allow for expression, Proto-Zero could feel the maliciousness emanating from the three._

 _The Bat Roidmude with 003 across his chest turned to the Spider with 002 on his chest. "Heart, do you really want this animal to join us?"_

" _It will be fine. He may even help us achieve the Ultimate Evolution."_

 _The Cobra with 001 leaned in closer to him, before turning to look at the other two. "Then let us begin the modifications."_

 _The three transformed into human appearances, and with smiles on their faces, held up medical instruments and leaned in. Proto-Zero struggled again, trying to break his bonds, before any of the tools touched him._

 _The older man, 001, grabbed the plate on Proto-Zero's chest that had 000 emblazoned across it with the pliers he was holding and yanked up, forcing the Roidmude to scream._

" _Alright Freeze, hold it there. Heart, shine the light on his chest." 003 stuck the sharp scissors at the top of the area where the plate had covered and began to cut down quickly across Proto-Zero's chest. Each cut sent jolts of pain through the Roidmude's body and he quickly grew hoarse from his screaming. His breathing became heavy and ragged, the grunts and moans he still made doing more damage to his already ruined throat._

 _003 pulled the two halves of Proto-Zero's chest apart with the forceps he had once he was done cutting and closely examined the Core Driviar before setting his attention to the 000 Core nestled in the Roidmude's chest._

" _Ugh… his Core is so…different from ours. I was right to call him an animal. It's going to be difficult to reprogram him Heart."_

" _But you can do it, right? His Core may be different, but he's still a Roidmude. He's one of us. He can't go back to being tainted by human filth."_

" _Don't worry Heart. I can do it. I'm not called Brain for nothing. Unfortunately…I'm going to have to completely turn him into a blank slate. Erase everything and start from scratch. It's like his Core is a…chain or something… You two should go and assess the situation with everyone else. I can finish this by myself."_

—–

Gou didn't want to leave his bed. It had been far too long since he had slept so comfortably and his body still felt sore from everything that had transpired in the past few days. Still, he needed to take care of his growling stomach and figure out what Professor Harley was up to.

The professor had ordered pizza and Gou all but devoured the extra large hamburger and black olive plus some of Harley's slices of pepperoni before retiring to bed, Chase having to take control of Gou's body and having Harley help since Gou was moments from collapsing. The professor promised that they would have an in-depth talk once the two woke up…if that was what his intentions were.

Gou glanced at his bedside clock in confusion. He distinctly remembered going to bed sometime around 11pm. The clock was showing 9pm however. That couldn't be right unless… The teen's eyes grew wide and he shot out of bed. He had slept the entire day, nearly twenty-four hours. That was enough time for Professor Harley to…

The teen frantically ran down the stairs to the lab, alerting Chase to be on standby should they have to run if they saw anyone suspicious in the house or lab.

"….honestly thought this would be where they would come…haven't seen anything on the radar…can remotely check the other labs…"

Gou slowed down his descent as he heard Harley talking to someone and stood beside the doorway, trying to listen in.

"I'm sorry Krim. I'll contact you again if I have any new information for you. They're probably running scared and while they will be cautious, Gou's still part human. He'll make a mistake eventually."

"It's imperative that I get them both back! They're risking my research into falling into the wrong hands! I should have never agreed to let Gou out by himself. And to also have Proto-Zero LIE to me… I'll let you get back to your work Harley. And remember to delete all the data about the Mach System from your computers there if you leave. Thank you."

The communication was cut off and Harley sighed before turning and looking at the door. "Alright boys, it's safe now. Why don't you go eat first and come back down? I made a giant pot of stew. Eat as much as you want. I know you need it."

—–

After eating two large bowls of stew, complete with five slices of homemade bread, Gou came back down to the lab. Harley smiled at him and motioned for him to sit down next to him.

"Before I start explaining, is there a way both of you can be present? This concerns both of you."

Gou nodded. "As long as it doesn't freak you out that both of our voices will come from my mouth, but yes, we can both control my body at the same time for a bit."

Harley sighed before looking at Gou and Chase in the eyes. "A few hours after the two of you were supposed to return to the Pit, Krim contacted me at my lab in New York, telling me everything. The final battle, what Banno had done to you, and his intentions for you two. Then he told me that you had run away and that every available cop was scouring the city for you. They tracked Gou's phone back to the apartment and Ride Chaser to the outskirts of the city. They even were going through security footage and records of every bus and train station and the airports, but found nothing."

" _Gou used a false identity and I used our Roidmude mimicry to change Gou's appearance so we wouldn't be recognized."_

Harley chuckled. "Krim finally realized that was probably what you had done, so that's when he contacted me to be on the lookout for you. I told him that since the Arizona lab was the one that you were most familiar with, that IF you came to America, that's where you would go. Krim immediately bought me a ticket out here and I got here as fast as I could to be on the lookout."

The professor paused, taking in the hurt look on Gou's face and reached over to squeeze the boy's hand. "Gou…Chase… I had absolutely NO intention on turning you in to Krim if you came here. Gou, I think of you as part of my family, like a son I never had. That's why I brought you here when we started testing the Mach System, so you could still have a normal teenage life during your free time."

"Professor…I…" Tears stung the corners of Gou's eyes.

"There's a dampening field around the house and lab, should anyone with Roidmude detecting equipment gets near the house. I'll need to apply that field to something you two can wear if you go outside, especially once we figure out a way to separate you into separate bodies. I also have no intention of deleting any of the Mach System's work or what I have about the Roidmudes. I'm sure we'll be able to use the information to find a way."

Harley stood up and pulled Gou into a hug, which the boy eagerly returned, sobbing into the older man's chest. "Th…thank you Professor."

"I told you, you're my boy…well boys now. I won't let anything happen to you while I'm around. Chase, I look forward to finally meeting you in person."

" _I look forward to it too, Professor Hendrickson."_

"Just call me Professor or Harley. Now…since you're up, I'd like to run a few tests. See how your body now compares the the data I have on file. The sooner we get started, the sooner we figure out your situation."


	7. Chapter 7

"So, what's the verdict Prof? Not really liking what I'm seeing on the screen here." The sentence came out muffled since Gou was consuming his fourth bowl of stew of the night.

Professor Harley rubbed at his eyes and glanced at Gou before turning back to the data on Gou that was up on the computer. "I'm sure you've probably realized you've been consuming a lot more food than you normally eat plus the fact that you've taken about three short naps since we began examining your body four hours ago. Was there anything Banno said to you about anything you two needed to do once you woke up? Or anything about restrictions at first?"

"Not that I remember. I was more focused trying to stay in character so he thought his brainwashing worked. Chase? You probably were paying more attention. Do you remember anything?"

" _Hmm… I was still trying to integrate myself without causing Gou harm, partially accessing my Roidmude parts so he would have an easier time making his body work. I… Wait! Right before we transformed, Banno said that he modified Signal Machaser so that we wouldn't have to de-transform at all. Our Rider form would give us perpetual energy."_

Harley looked up at the images of Gou's body again. "Ah, that would explain it. Without being in Rider form, the energy needs to come from somewhere."

The professor saw the confused look the boys were giving him. "Basically…your body is still healing from your injuries you got in your battles and what Banno did. Your Roidmude and human parts are trying to find a balance with each other. Being in your Rider form would have given you the energy and rest to heal, but since you can't access it, food and sleep are trying to compensate. Your metabolism is basically in overdrive to convert anything you consume into energy to heal your body."

" _Before Medic was revived, the way Heart, Brain, and I were able to heal from our lesser injuries was to go into a deep sleep so that the body's only task to perform was heal. Sleeping is just our Roidmude parts doing what they do naturally when we're hurt. With the amount of work Banno did, I imagine that our body is shutting down to use the energy efficiently."_

Gou looked down at his empty bowl, pain in his eyes. "So…basically…all I'm gonna really be able to do is eat and sleep…what a life… Maybe Chase and I should have…"

Harley put his hand on Gou's shoulder. "It won't be forever, just until you heal fully and your human parts are able to keep up with your Roidmude parts. But I have faith that it won't be too long for you. After all, you were able to master the Mach System faster than I thought."

Harley got up and returned to Gou a moment later with a notepad and pen. "We'll need to go shopping for high calorie foods, maybe some vitamin supplements and protein shakes to give you an extra boost, and although I really don't want you to fill up on them…yes the junk foods you like so much. The fat and sugar they would add to your body would actually help in your case."

Gou and Chase looked at the list the professor was making. "It would probably be easy to fall into a routine depending on how my sleep schedule would affect me. Two or three big healthy meals a day and when I start feeling hungry, I'll drink a protein shake and very rarely some chips or something. I can give up most of the junk food but I'm NOT giving up my soda. I live off caffeine."

" _I'll come up with a sleep schedule for our body. A regular Roidmude sleep cycle wouldn't work for us, but I think we can break up the cycle in segments. As long as one segment is a full eight hours, we'll be able to work with small hour naps throughout the day. It would prevent our body from shutting down like it's been doing. Of course, once this body is fully healed, we'll be able to reduce the hours."_

—-

Although they had woken up just a short time ago and had taken a few naps since then, Gou was feeling his body start to shut down again, probably due to the last bowl of stew he ate. It was also late into the night and he knew Harley needed sleep as well, so after the three came up with a meal and sleep plan for the next few weeks, they decided to retire for the night and start their plan when they woke up.

Gou situated himself in bed after turning off his bedside lamp. "Hey Chase? Can I ask you about something that's been troubling me?"

" _Hmm? What is it Gou?"_

"It didn't happen when I took those short naps…but when I've been asleep longer than that…I've been…seeing into your memories. Like…seeing these through your eyes. I… Chase?"

Gou had felt the Roidmude consciousness grow faint like he did when he shut down his mind for sleep. Gou was about to close his eyes to do the same when he could feel Chase again.

" _I…had hoped that you were not being plagued with my memories. They are ones that I had locked away due to their nature. I do not understand why they are seeping out now after I made sure to keep them out of my mind. Perhaps my sleep procedures are faulty and causing them. They…"_

"I guess even Roidmudes get nightmares…or at least you."

" _Night…mares?"_

"Nightmares are unpleasant dreams that cause the sufferer to be scared, confused, distressed. They emit a strong emotional fear, both in your body and mind. They can be anything, like something you're scared of or even unpleasant memories from your past and because it's your mind doing this, sometimes they are way exaggerated."

" _What causes them and how do you stop them?"_

Gou sighed and turned to his side. "It can be a number of reasons…sleeping in an uncomfortable position, eating or drinking something before bed that disagrees with you, sometimes they just happen for no reason. There's not really any way to get rid of them, I mean there are pills and therapy, but that only stops them temporarily. It's best to sometimes let them play out."

"… _I still don't understand why they've started to seep into our thoughts when we are asleep though. Even with me into a sleep cycle, they shouldn't."_

"Maybe it's me then Chase. Maybe I'm causing it. I've been suffering from nightmares for several years now. I mean, you were able to accidentally access my memories. Maybe I'm starting to be able to do the same. All the more reason to figure out how to recreate a body for you as fast as we can. I'm…worried…"

" _I intruded on your memories, so wouldn't it be right for you to do the same? Plus, we need to be on the same wavelength in case our position is compromised."_

"It's…not that. I've been wondering why Banno did this to us? Wouldn't it have been better for him to have built you a new body he could control and use the spare Roidmude parts he had on me and then reprogram both of us? He would have had two Riders instead of one. And considering Banno was in that tablet of Brain's while you were still on their side and even when I pretended to join them, he SHOULD have known that brainwashing and reprogramming wouldn't have worked on either of us, ESPECIALLY when we're in the same body."

" _He called us his biggest failures. Perhaps this was his way of punishing us? I have been thinking about something you said during our conversation on the plane; that you had become the thing you hated. Banno knew of your hatred of Roidmudes…and me…from the times we interacted while you were still in possession of the tablet he was contained in. He was probably also aware of my attempts of understanding humanity also because of that fact. I believe in his mind, he saw a perfect opportunity to punish both of us by doing what he did. You would be trapped in a body you hated with someone you hated and I would be trapped in an almost human body with someone that could teach me the ways of humanity, but wouldn't just to spite me. He was unaware of your true feelings about me however."_

"Heh, guess we disappointed dad one last time then. Almost makes me wish he were alive again, JUST to hear that his punishment to us was a bust."

" _That…does sound amusing. Anyway, we should sleep. We have a long day tomorrow for as much as our body will allow."_

"You're right. Goodnight Chase."

" _Goodnight Gou. And thank you. For teaching me about nightmares. I hope we have more talks like this. It was…nice."_

"Anytime Chase."


	8. Chapter 8

Due to Gou's impulsive nature and the unpredictability of the Roidmude healing process, it was hard to keep the schedule that the three had created for the first week or so. Even small tasks or chores, like washing the dishes, would suddenly trigger the shutdown process in Gou's body and there were many times when Gou or Chase would barely make it to their bed or the couch before passing out.

It started taxing the two mentally. Gou blamed himself for being too weak to heal quickly and thus delaying trying to figure out how to separate Chase and himself and getting the Roidmude his own body. Chase was starting to find it difficult to access the Roidmude parts as they integrated themselves into Gou's body, putting the notion in Chase's head that he was indeed just an intruder in the teen's body. There were many nights the two would cry themselves to sleep and both boys thought of telling Harley to contact Krim and turn themselves in.

—–

The breaking point happened when the two had a shared nightmare. It had started as one of Gou's; the time he had pretended to join the Roidmude side and the terror he felt as Brain held him down while Freeze grabbed his head and told Gou in vivid detail about every memory he was going to change as he created the icy needle and pushed it slowly into the teen's head.

It quickly morphed into one of Chase's and the last time he had been on the Roidmude side. Medic was in her Roidmude form, using her tentacles to almost squeeze the life out of him before throwing him forcefully against the wall, screaming at him the entire time on how useless he was. She grabbed his limp body and dug her fingernails in his head while stabbing his Core with one of her tentacles, downloading the final round of reprogramming in his being.

The combined nightmare forced the two awake and Gou barely made it to the bathroom. After laying on the cool floor for a bit to calm down, Gou shakily made it back to their room and shivered in bed, despite his blankets.

"Chase…we can't keep going on like this! It's been two weeks and we haven't been able to accomplish anything. I'm frustrated and scared and I know you are too. I don't want this to be our whole life. I don't want to…lose…"

" _I…feel the same. I thought that if I helped control my old Roidmude body, I could help with the stress that it's putting on your body. But…I am losing access to it. It's being integrated more and I'm unfamiliar with human bodies, so I can't understand how to access with the new human additions."_

The two grew silent, lost in their own thoughts, when Gou sat up suddenly. "We're idiots."

" _Gou? What do you mean?"_

Gou chuckled. "Chase, you just made me realize our problem. We keep claiming that we share a body…but we haven't ACTUALLY been doing it. We've only really tried controlling our own parts and NOT trying to control the other. I have no clue about any of your Roidmude body and in turn, you don't know about my human body. So we've just stuck to what we know."

" _That's why it's taking us so long to heal. We're delaying our progress ourselves. I'm…sorry. I did tell you I would teach you how to use your Roidmude abilities but I haven't."_

"It's not your fault, at least…not completely. I'm to blame myself. I kept trying to push my body to heal that I didn't realize what was going wrong internally. I think…tomorrow, we start understanding each other's bodies. Even if we just stay in bed and communicate in our head, that's the main thing we need to accomplish."

" _Agreed. We need to leave Professor Harley a note telling him our plan in case he gets worried about us."_

—-

Once the two added on the extra task teaching each other about the other's body, their mood and energy improved immensely. As soon as Gou and Chase had mastered being able to control their body by themselves if the other needed a mental break and were able to control it together to perform separate tasks, the two began to pour their hours into Harley's computer files, combing through everything about Roidmudes that Chase couldn't access with what parts of his they had to work with.

In a few weeks' time, they roughly had completed a Roidmude blueprint, completely with what items they needed to build it. It wasn't an exact match to the Human Roidmude form Chase had, but it had all the major and basic functions, plus Chase would stay in his human form most of the time anyway. In the meantime, Harley had been gathering and building what he could to help the two, including an improved Core Driviar that wouldn't put a shock on Chase when his Core was in the new body after being in Gou's for so long.

That was one of Gou's main concerns, that they would be too late in separating themselves and Chase would be trapped in Gou's body or even worse and Chase's consciousness just fade away. He had worried every time the Roidmude had grown silent for long periods and voiced his concerns during their talks they had each night before bed. As a reassurance, Chase began to open up and talk more, voicing his opinions and thoughts as they worked out the details on his new body.

—

"Alright boys! Got the last parts we needed in the mail today! Once we insert and attach them, Chase's body should be done."

Gou held up blood bags with a deep red liquid inside. "Chase and I just finished filling the bags with the synthetic energy liquid we created. Hopefully it's as close to Banno's recipe to work. Once the wire veins are filled and those parts put in, we can discuss when to insert Chase's Core."

Harley looked up from inserting the cavity where the Core would settle. "Well, depending on the time now, we could do it tonight, during your normal sleep cycle for the night. That way, when you two woke up, you'd be rested up and it wouldn't throw you off of the schedule you have for yourselves."

Gou had just finished inserting the last bag in the veins. "Chase…how about it? Do you want to do it tonight?"

The teen felt the Roidmude consciousness go silent for a few moments. Gou closed his eyes, patiently waiting for Chase to come back. It was a big decision and he would give his friend all the time he needed to make the choice.

" _Alright. Let's do it tonight."_

—-

"Gou, are you comfortable? I don't want you to be in any more pain than you'll be in when you wake up." Harley put the oxygen mask across Gou's mouth and nose and checked all the charts and connections one last time.

"I'm fine Professor. Besides, since I'll be in a deep sleep, the Roidmude healing will kick in and heal most of the incision before I wake up. Are you ready Chase?"

" _Yes. Professor Harley, all you have to do is just cut the tendrils that are coming out of my Core. I'll float over to my new body and create more for you to attach. The green healing gel we created will aid in healing both Gou's body and mine. There won't be need for stitches. Just slather it on the incisions."_

The professor went to turn the anesthesia on and waited for a few minutes after Gou's eyes closed before getting to work. Everything went smoothly and after Harley washed up the area, his tools, and himself, he went over to the two and gently squeezed their hands before heading to bed.

"Goodnight my boys."

—

Gou slowly opened his eyes and groaned as the blinding white ceiling hurt his eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to wake up and turned his head to look at the bed next to him, where Chase would be. The bed was empty and Gou sat up immediately, his eyes wide.

"Chase?!"

The teen heard someone running down the stairs and turned to look at the doorway. Chase was already in his human form, wearing a set of Gou's clothes that looked way too baggy on him. He ran up to Gou, the smile on his face rivaling the one the Roidmude had on his license.

"Professor Harley and I decided to let you sleep in since it would probably take you longer to heal than…"

Gou jumped up and pulled Chase into a bear hug, clinging to him like his life depended on it. "Everything turned out okay? Everything works?"

Chase equally returned the hug. "There may be a few things we didn't anticipate but I'll tell you after lunch. I'm starving and I know you are too."

The two made their way up the stairs only for Gou to stop halfway up. "Wait…starving?! But…I only ever saw you drink water! Chase!?"

Chase turned around and grinned sheepishly, grabbing Gou's arm. "I'll explain after lunch like I said. But for now, pizza awaits!"


	9. Chapter 9

In the entire time Gou had known the Roidmude, he had only seen Chase consume anything edible ONCE. There had been a second time, Shinnosuke had told the teen that Chase had done the same "drink date" with him in order to find out the cop's feelings about Kiriko. So seeing Chase happily munching on the different varieties of pizza that Professor Harley had ordered had both weirded him out and warmed his heart.

Harley excused himself from the table, needing to go down to the lab to have his weekly talk with Krim and told the two to come down to the lab in about an hour to show the boys something Chase wanted him to find that they needed to see.

The two began to clean up the kitchen, Gou glancing at Chase washing the dishes. The smile Chase had hadn't left his face in the entire time that Gou had seen the Roidmude in his new body. He knew that before anything else, he needed to tell Chase what he had wanted to say to him ever since their entire situation started.

Chase turned around to face Gou when the teen walked over toward him. "So…Chase… first things first. I promised I'd do this when you got a new body. I…apologize for the way I treated you before. It wasn't until I saw you fight with every fiber of your being to save me when I didn't deserve to be saved, that I realized just how much you did to try to get me to change my mind about you. I was too stubborn to realize what had been right in front of me this entire time and although I don't deserve it, I'd like the chance to start again. Would you consider us becoming friends?"

Gou held out his hand as an offer of friendship. Chase closed his eyes for a second before taking Gou's hand with his own and pulling Gou into a hug.

"Friends don't shake hands. Friends hug. And thank you Gou. I accept your apology."

—

Harley called the two boys into the lab and the two walked in to find the professor at the security monitors. "Alright Chase, found what you wanted me to look for. Only saw a few seconds of it before I paused and rewound it, so I haven't seen it myself."

Gou looked at Chase confused. "That's right…you said you were going to explain things to me about your body once we ate lunch. Does the footage have anything to do with that?"

Chase's face went stoic, like Gou was used to seeing the Roidmude, but the warmness in Chase's eyes didn't leave and he slightly began to have a small smile on his face. "Yes, but it's…complicated. I think we should watch the footage before I explain things."

Gou and Chase sat down and Harley hit play once the two gave their okay. The footage showed the two still laying on the beds when Chase twitched and woke up. He quickly digitized into his human form, wearing the familiar purple clothes he was known for. Chase turned to look at Gou's prone form and had barely touched the teen's hand when the Roidmude began to emit a golden light. He had backed away from Gou quickly before the light engulfed the entire screen. The light faded and a completely naked Chase was laying on the floor.

Harley stopped the footage and turned around. "That was about five this morning. Found Chase still in that same position asleep at around eight when I came into the lab. Woke him up but he was very disoriented so I helped him back into bed and grabbed him a set of your clothes when he couldn't digitize any on. He woke up an hour later but refused to let me examine him until you woke up."

"Th…that was…"

Both the professor and Chase turned to look at Gou, who's eyes were wide and still staring at the screen. Chase put his hand gently on Gou's shoulder and the teen turned to look at him.

Gou had seen the exact thing that happened to Chase happen to three others. He thought back to the times he saw Freeze, Heart, and Medic all emit that same golden light. "Chase… that was…Super Evolution… But I thought…you couldn't… And wouldn't you have…?"

Chase looked Gou in the eyes. "I…don't exactly know how I did it or what caused it or what changes that have happened. I wanted you awake before I let Professor Harley examine me. But… I feel different… I feel the emotions I've learned and experienced from you and everyone else though. It's a good feeling and I can't stop smiling."

Gou's eyes softened and he started smiling himself. "You have a nice smile Chase. I should have told you that when you first got your license and I saw it then. It's good to see it again."

—-

"Well…this is interesting. Chase…Gou…you need to see this. I don't think you're going to believe it though."

The two had been online shopping for clothes for Chase after Harley ran a few tests on him since, while he was able to finally digitize himself clothes, he didn't want to rely solely on that ability in case it would somehow compromise them. The ability would only be used for emergencies. As such, he was still in Gou's clothes, but they were way too baggy for his slim frame and weren't really his style.

As the two got closer to the computer, Chase furrowed his eyebrows. "Professor, why do you have Gou's data up on the screen? I thought you were looking at my data?"

Harley chuckled. "This IS yours Chase. In fact…here…let's pull up Gou's data. Notice anything interesting?"

Both boys stared in shock as, except for their body frames, their data was almost identical on the screen. Chase's had a few differences upon a closer look, but were close enough to fool someone that they were looking at the same data if they didn't know what to look for.

"Obviously, your body is still mostly machine…but now it has a few organic elements to it. I believe that due to you learning and understanding the human body while you were in Gou's body and your desire to become more human, it triggered what you called a Super Evolution when you touched Gou. As for that evolution seemingly being just your human form… From what I've learned about Roidmudes from Krim's notes and from what you two have told me, a Low-Class Roidmude can sync with a human and take on their characteristics and emotions. You already knew your human form so that wouldn't change, but I think because of the closeness and familiarity of being in Gou's body, your body evolved internally using that information, hence the organic elements now."

Tears pricked the sides of Chase's eyes as he stared at the computer screen as Gou gently squeezed his shoulder. "So…in essence…my body is nearly exactly like Gou's? Almost like twins? Would that mean…?"

Harley looked at both boys and smiled. "Yes Chase. You can essentially call yourself human now."


	10. Chapter 10

Five months. It had been a painful five months without any sign or hint about Gou and Chase's whereabouts. The silence in her world and the holes in her heart had pushed Kiriko into a state of numbness whenever she wasn't around Shinnosuke or the rest of the Tokujo Unit. There were some days she didn't even want to get out of bed to face them, especially HIM.

Krim Steinbelt. The name alone left a bitter taste in her mouth and her hatred of him seeped into her entire being. He had taken everything she held dear from her, leaving her nothing but the empty shell she was. He was responsible for her baby brother to run away in a panic, for causing Chase to make the choice to do everything in his power to keep Gou safe, for threatening the trust and partnership that Shinnosuke and she had and forcing him to choose between him and her. Shinnosuke chose Krim.

It hurt not hearing their voices, Gou's especially. Except for the time that her brother had been pretending to be on the side of the Roidmudes, she had been in contact with him every day, even if it was just a phone call or text message. And with nothing from him for five months…

She pulled out the licenses and stared at their pictures, a habit she had started ever since Shinnosuke and she found them on Gou's kitchen counter, next to his phone. They knew why Gou would leave his, considering after countless hours of searching through airport records, they finally found the false name and papers her brother used to leave. Chase's though…

The Roidmude had been so proud and excited to get it, even if his expression didn't show it. It was a precious treasure to him and one of the only things he could really call his own. For Chase to leave it… Kiriko knew he had to though, in order for them to pass through airport security easily. There would have been questions if Gou was found to be carrying another person's license, especially one that had been flagged to apprehend the person carrying it.

Tears stung her eyes as she stared at Gou's license, her thumb rubbing against his birthdate. He turned twenty last week. The only birthday of his she ever missed…and it was the most important milestone of her brother's life. In Japan, he was finally a legal adult. The two had planned what Gou wanted to do once he turned twenty many years ago. He had counted down the years and was always excited when one more birthday could be checked off.

She wondered if he had a good birthday or since he was probably always on the run and changing his location in order for Krim to not find them, if he even was able to keep track of time. The thought of her baby brother sleeping in the streets or abandoned buildings with little food kept forming a pit in her stomach. He should be home; not lost and frightened thousands of miles away.

Kiriko now had a better understanding of the hatred Gou had for their father, as she now had it for someone who was no better in her eyes. To think at one point, she had actually trusted Krim, blindly followed his every command, and had even wanted to be Drive before finding out she wasn't strong enough. There were many times when she was in the Drive Pit where she just wanted to take her gun and shoot the belt or even destroy it with one of Gou or Chase's weapons. She knew it would be useless as he already proved he had backed himself up in multiple places.

She had become bitter, the rare smiles she even gave all but a forgotten memory. She wanted them back. She wanted Gou back. She glanced up at the calendar. In a week, Shinnosuke, Rinna, and she were supposed to go to America to set up a device that could better detect the Core Driviar technology at Professor Hendrickson's lab in Arizona.

As soon as Krim announced their plan, Kiriko made up her mind. She knew that the scientist had his belt strap firmly wrapped around the Tokujo members, especially Shinnosuke. But in the calls Kiriko heard from Hendrickson, the older man seemed…different. Maybe…Krim didn't have control of the older scientist as much as he thought. Maybe she could confide in him to help her secretly find her brother and Chase and let them know that they had an ally in her. Even if she couldn't get them back permanently, she would do everything in her power to keep them safe.

—–-

Five months. It had been an interesting five months for Gou and Chase as the two made lives for themselves now that each had their own body. While Chase knew about a few emotions from his experiences with humans and while in Gou's body, he still had a lot to learn about his new-found gained humanity. Likewise, Gou still needed help learning about his newly gained Roidmude powers. The two traded off on knowledge every day, testing themselves, and forming an unbreakable bond of trust with each other. The two were inseparable, even when apart, and it was clear that they had evolved from being friends into more of a brotherly relationship.

To their surprise, the two boys had found that while Chase was now in his own body, they could still talk to each other and share their thoughts mentally like they had when they were both in Gou's body. Harley proposed that since aspects of Gou had leaked into Chase's Core, the same had happened with Gou.

Gou had immediately sensed Chase having a nightmare and had rushed to the Roidmude's new room to wake him up from it before it got too bad. Gou didn't want to be too far from Chase, so Chase moved back into Gou's room, the two sleeping in twin beds until there had been one two many times one or the other would fall off the bed because sometime during the night, the two would crawl into bed with each other to stave off bad dreams. As a combined Christmas present for the two, Harley bought them a huge bed to share.

Both Harley and especially Chase knew how much Gou had missed his older sister, especially when the holidays hit and it was the first time they had celebrated them without any contact from each other. Chase wished that by this time next year, that everything would be okay again and they could all be a family, especially when Gou surprised the Roidmude by announcing that since Banno had told them that Chase had been activated the day Gou was born, that the two shared a birthday and he was also turning twenty. The two chuckled and exchanged gifts and were more shocked when Harley showed them the birthday cake he made for both of them.

—–-

Harley's favorite picture of his two boys was the one he took on their birthday. Gou was sitting at the kitchen table, their birthday cake laying on the table in front of them. Chase was leaning behind Gou with his arms draped across his shoulders. The two boys had the biggest smiles on their faces and both had flashed a peace sign. The picture had been framed and stayed constantly by his computer.

He looked at it thoughtfully before putting it in the box and made his way up to the living room to give to Chase. They were removing every trace of themselves living here in order for the team that was coming here on Krim's behalf from getting suspicious. Krim wanted to build a device in the lab to track Core Driviars since none of his previous methods turned out any results. As much as Harley wanted to say no, he knew that Krim would have become suspicious.

The three made a plan for Gou and Chase to hide out in a smaller lab of Harley's that was off the grid a few hours away with everything that would give away that the two had been living there for months or that they had accomplished giving Chase a new body. As soon as the team left and Harley figured out how to tamper with Krim's machine, the two could come home. As much as they wanted to see Kiriko upon finding out she was coming, her not knowing they were there was for the best.

With a tearful goodbye, Harley gave the boys a hug and promised to contact them as soon as he could. He watched them drive off in the car he got them for their birthday before getting in his own to pick up Shinnosuke, Kiriko, and Rinna from the airport.


	11. Chapter 11

Upon entering Professor Hendrickson's house, Kiriko noticed the eerie silence to it despite the warmth she felt coming from the home, almost like it was used way more often than what an old scientist could muster. Before she could make any more observations, Shinnosuke came up behind her with his luggage and the woman moved to allow the cop room to come in the house.

Harley walked through the house a moment after Shinnosuke. "Here it is, Casa de la Hendrickson! Kitchen is through that room and the stairs to the basement lab are through the door in there. Bedrooms are through here and bathroom is the farthest door on the left side. Unfortunately I only have three bedrooms but I'm going to be sleeping in the lab the entire time; mine, the guest room, and…Gou's room…"

Kiriko let out a small whimper and her eyes locked with the scientist's for a few seconds, the woman noticing the pained look in the man's eyes before going back to a neutral look.

The professor smiled sadly. "Sorry Kiriko… I…can only imagine how much you miss him. Now I feel bad that I was going to suggest you take his room for your stay. I can give it…"

"I want his room Professor. I…thank you. Maybe me being in there will help with not having to be able to see him for so long. I just…I miss him so much. Chase too. I just hope they're safe wherever they are."

Rinna came up behind the woman and patted her shoulder before making her way to the kitchen. "Don't worry, once we get Krim's new device up and running, it'll only be a matter of time before we pick up the Core Driviar in Gou's body and be able to bring him home."

—

Dinner passed mostly in silence since everyone was still jet-lagged. Only Rinna and Harley managed to have a small conversation about the plans for tomorrow once everyone woke up. Kiriko had wanted to talk to the professor privately about her request, but tiredness and her longing to stay in Gou's room after only being in it a few minutes to put her luggage in there won out in the end.

After telling everyone goodnight, Kiriko retired to her room for the duration of their stay. She closed her eyes and braced herself as she opened the door and walked in the room. It was cleaner than she thought it would be, but she surmised Harley had come in and cleaned the room before they got there since he told her he had left it alone when Gou went to Japan.

The room smelled strongly like her brother did and she forced herself not to cry as the scent invaded her nose. She took in everything about his room, his dresser with framed photos of them when they were kids, the walls had photos of the Arizona deserts and sunsets which she was sure Gou had shot with his camera, the closet was full of his regular clothes with a decent selection of nicer outfits that Kiriko couldn't believe he had.

She got dressed in her pajamas and slipped in the huge bed, grateful that while the sheets had obviously been laundered recently, they still had Gou's scent on them. There seemed to be another familiar scent on the sheets, but she couldn't place it. She grabbed her phone on the bedside table and brought up her picture folder. Since she couldn't bring Gou's and Chase's licenses with her, she decided to take pictures of their pictures on her phone.

The scent of her brother combined with staring at his picture was too much for Kiriko and she finally let the tears fall that she had been holding in. Her hands shook and her phone slipped from her fingers and bounced off the bed onto the floor.

"Damn it. Stupid, clumsy…"

Kiriko reached down, wiping her hand on the floor, trying to find her phone. She leaned down, feeling under the bed, and finally her hand hit something solid. She grabbed the object and pulled it from under the bed. It wasn't her phone, but a framed picture, and Kiriko wondered how it had got under the bed from the dresser, unless it had actually been on the bedside table and had fallen off.

She turned the frame around and her hand quickly covered her mouth to choke back her sob. A million questions ran through her head as she stared at the photo within the frame. Tears threatened to fall again and it took Kiriko a few minutes to compose herself before she looked at the picture again.

It was a picture of Gou…and Chase. Both boys were smiling and Chase had his arms around Gou who was sitting at what she realized was Professor Harley's kitchen table. A cake was on the table with the words "Happy 20th Birthday Gou and Chase." Kiriko's eyes widened as she realized how much this picture revealed.

Gou and Chase had been here. Pieces clicked in her head. The unnatural silence of the house, Professor Harley's smiles that didn't quite reach his eyes, the state of Gou's room, the clothes, the smells… They lived here. This was their home. And more important of all, Chase had his own body again.

Part of her was relieved that the two were alright, that they had probably been here the entire time they had been gone. However…how did they get Chase a body, where were they, what would Shinnosuke, Rinna, and she being here mean for them when they left next week? The machine that Rinna and Harley were building…would it even work? Harley was obviously harboring them from Krim, that much was certain. There was no doubt in her mind that he would probably do anything to sabotage the device.

Kiriko knew she needed to talk to Harley privately, the sooner the better, to let him know she was on their side. She was grateful and indebted to the man for keeping her brother and Chase safe for so long, allowing them to be in a place where they were free and happy.

She hugged the picture frame before putting it under her pillow. "Goodnight Gou. Goodnight Chase. Wherever you are, I hope you're safe."

—-

"Professor Harley, can I talk to you?"

Harley heard the screen door and he looked over to see Kiriko step out on the back porch. He gently patted the spot on the porch swing next to him and the woman sat down gently. "So Kiriko, what's on your mind? You seemed distracted at dinner tonight."

"So…you noticed… I'm sorry. It's just… I want to thank you…for everything you've done."

The professor sighed. "Don't worry Kiriko…we'll find them. And then you'll…"

"Professor Harley…I know. I know…about them." Kiriko pulled the framed picture that had been nestled in her jacket and handed the frame to him.

The pain in the man's eyes was apparent as he stared grimly at the picture. "I told them to take everything…make sure to double check to see if they got everything. I…"

"It had fallen under the bed. I wouldn't have even known it was there had I not dropped my phone. Professor…judging from this photo…I knew I was right in my judgement of you. I…was going to have an alternative goal from Krim's when I came here. It was to get your help in finding them secretly…and letting them know I'm an ally to them. I just want them to know that. I miss them so much. It hurts not having them in my life."

"Kiriko…"

"I was so worried about them, about Gou. I had so many horrible scenarios about how he was living wrack my brain. Every time I would think about him having to keep moving, living on the streets cold and hungry, a deep pit of dread would consume me and made me start resenting everything that forced my baby brother into this situation, especially Krim. But that photo…that warmth…that I felt from it. They are very deeply loved and taken care of, aren't they?"

Harley smiled, this time his smile reached his eyes. "I've told them countless times and I'll tell you as well. They're my boys. I'll do everything to protect them, even lying to one of my oldest friends and colleagues to keep them safe. I love and care for them both as if they were my sons."

Kiriko wiped the tears that were forming off her face. "Then I hope this week goes by fast so they can come home. And thank you for giving Gou a good 20th birthday. It hurt not being able to celebrate it with him or even if he even was able to."

"Them Kiriko. If you noticed, the cake says both Gou and Chase. Banno revealed that Chase was first activated the day Gou was born so that would essentially make them brothers. And considering their bond they've formed with each other, especially after Chase got his own body, they've taken being brothers to heart."

"How…exactly did Chase get his own body again? And how is Gou handling being part Roidmude? I didn't get to even talk to him about it before he ran off. I…"

"All in due time Kiriko. We still have a week before you leave. It would be unfair to all three of you if I rushed my explanation of what's transpired since Gou and Chase got here."

Harley looked at the picture in his hands one last time, before handing it to Kiriko. "Here. Take it home with you. We can print off another."

Kiriko gently took the frame from Harley's hands and held it close to her. "Thank you."

—-

Before Kiriko got up to enter the house, the figure that had been standing inside the house close to the back door pushed off the wall and walked quickly back to their room.

Upon entering, Shinnosuke slammed his hand against the closed door. Learning this new information about the situation, his plans needed to be changed.


	12. Chapter 12

The week went by fairly quickly with Rinna and Harley using their time to build the Core Driviar tracking device and Shinnosuke and Kiriko looking at police reports of suspicious looking individuals near any of Harley's labs in case one matched Gou's appearance. Kiriko halfheartedly looked, knowing that none of the cases would match up. She already knew they were just a few hours away, hidden in one of Harley's smaller labs.

Harley finding time to talk to Kiriko alone actually had been fairly easy. Rinna excused herself every night after dinner to work on a project she had started in Japan that needed to be finished in a short time and Shinnosuke had to work on paperwork he still had to do for a few of his cases. Each night, Kiriko learned about everything that happened; the mental and physical healing the two went through, building Chase a body and his evolution, and how the boys were doing and what they had done while they had been living here.

Kiriko knew with each passing day that Harley was worried about the device he was helping to build. Rinna had mentioned at dinner that the professor had make a few errors in his notes and she corrected them for him. She knew that no matter what way he would try to sabotage the device, Rinna would immediately know the problem and fix it.

To top it off, Shinnosuke seemed to start getting nervous around her whenever the subject of Gou and Chase came up, quickly trying to change the subject. Kiriko felt like her partner was hiding something from her and she severely hoped that he didn't know about her secret talks with Harley. The two made sure that no one was around when they talked.

—–

Shinnosuke looked up from his computer after submitting the final document he had typed and looked at Kiriko staring at her computer. He knew that she wasn't working as hard as she usually did and after that first night of him eavesdropping on Harley and her, he knew why. He looked down at his computer, the culmination of his plans being sent to the appropriate people, and hoped he had done the right thing.

He sighed and looked at Kiriko one more time. He hated keeping secrets from her, but it was imperative that she didn't know until he actually knew her true feelings on everything that was going on. After her conversation with Harley, he knew exactly where both of their loyalties to Krim lied.

"Kiriko…I need to confess something to you."

The woman looked up and Shinnosuke was fixing to go on, when Rinna came through the doorway.

"Alright! With only three days to go before we have to go back, I think our Core Driviar tracking device is ready to be turned on! Come on you two! I want you to be present for this. Professor Harley is already in the lab."

Rinna ran back out and Shinnosuke furrowed his eyebrows as they stood up. "I'll…tell you later Kiriko."

—

The two walked in to see Rinna happily setting up the device while Harley was setting up his computer to show Krim the visuals of the lab and see firsthand if the device worked or not.

Rinna made sure everyone was watching her before starting her explanation. "Alright! Are we ready? How this works is once I turn on the device, it will start detecting for any Core Driviar technology in a radius of about two hundred miles and show it on this map. Obviously we won't be able to catch them for some time, especially since in the time it would take us to get to a location, say…a hundred miles away, they could be long gone. If the device is a success, I'll travel to Harley's other labs and set up devices there. I estimate we'll be able to have the entirety of the US covered in about a month and catch them in the next month, if not sooner."

Rinna flipped on the switches and the radar blipped a few times before settling on an area just barely in range of the device that was slowly moving northeast.

"That's…"

Everyone turned to look at Harley as the older man gave the radar a confused look. "That…looks like they might be heading to my lab in Colorado. But that would mean that they bypassed this lab here. Maybe they're able to tell that this lab was being used so that's why they never came here. I already set that lab to trigger my computer here if they enter it, so if it does, we'll know."

"Excellent work you two. As soon as Rinna gets the free time, I'll have her install devices like this in some of Harley's major labs in the next month. I'll see you in a few days." Krim ended the visual call on his end.

Rinna chuckled. "Well, we know the device works! It's perfectly detecting the little tracker bug I released yesterday! All I need to do is make a few more to go with the other decoy Core Driviar tracking devices in case problems occur."

Everyone turned to look at Rinna, shock apparent on their faces. She looked at each of them and shook her head. "Do you really think I was going to be a sell out to Gou and Chase? After everything they've gone through and accomplished? I've been undermining Krim this entire time, pretending to work for him to keep him from finding out what I was really going to make of this device. And…I may be ditzy from time to time…but I do have to remind you, I'm a genius. I saw through each of you as soon as we got here. So confess, all of you."

Kiriko looked at everyone and smiled softly. "My plan here was to confide in Professor Harley to see if I could privately find some way to find Gou and Chase since he seemed to not be as loyal to Krim as I thought everyone else was. Even if I couldn't see them, I wanted to at least let them know they had an ally in me. And then…when I found out everything from Harley…"

Harley chuckled. "Kiriko was right in thinking I wasn't loyal to Krim. I've been harboring both of them this entire time. And…Chase has his own body. I'd like to explain everything to you like I've done with Kiriko, but I think it would be better if Gou and Chase explained it to you. It's going to take a bit of convincing that they're not in any danger, but if I call them now, they can be home in a few hours."

The three turned to look at Shinnosuke who looked at Rinna and Harley before settling on Kiriko's face. "Kiriko…I could tell. I could tell how much Gou and Chase not being around affected you. It hurt so much to not see you smile or open yourself up to all of us like you used to. But…like Rinna and Harley…I had to pretend to be loyal to Krim, even more then them. Because I had to do everything I could to bring your smile back. I didn't know if you were pretending or not, so I had to keep secrets from you."

Shinnosuke opened his computer up. "I had to go back and revamp a few of the documents since I accidentally eavesdropped on your conversation the first night, but…I've been using my police connections to make up false identity documents for both Gou and Chase. The idea struck me when Gou used a fake identity to leave Japan and I thought to make something more permanent for them. That way, they'd be able to travel around without fear of getting caught since Krim has their identities flagged. I initially made them have different last names, but hearing they were more like brothers, I had to change the information before I submitted it. And Professor Harley…I hope you don't mind…but I gave them the last name that you use when you want to travel discreetly. It took a little digging, but I found it."

Harley smiled. "So you DID listen in that night… Thank you Shinnosuke. Anyway, if that's all the confessions, I think it's time that my boys come home so you can spend a few days with them."

—–

Chase furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Gou, confusion apparent on his face as he pushed End Call on his cellphone. "Gou…Harley wants us to come home. They're still there…but he said everything's okay and he'll explain everything once we get there. What should we do?"

"It could be a trap…but on the other hand…if Harley's being held hostage… If push comes to shove, I think we can take them. Krim isn't with them. And if Harley's telling the truth and everything IS okay, we'd be able to see our family again."

"I say we should go then Gou. Harley's never lied to us and if it was a trap, he'd give us some sort of code that he was in trouble."

"Alright. I'll start loading the car."


	13. Chapter 13

Gou decided to park the car about a block away and the two make the rest of the way home on foot in case they had to make a quick escape. The entire car ride back home the two had discussed the possibility of being told to come home being a trap and they had formed a few possible plans on when they got there. As a result, it took a few more hours to get home, since they wanted to get there after it grew dark.

Chase knew that both Gou and him could take on the people in the house if they were unaided by anything. He was worried about Rinna somehow making something in Harley's lab to impede them, but using a Density Shift, which both of them were reluctant to do, might be the only way to get out with Harley safely if he was in trouble.

The door was unlocked and Gou cautiously turned the knob and opened the door slowly, listening for any sign of danger. Walking silently through the living room, Gou stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. All thoughts of the plans Chase and him created hours ago flew out of his mind as he locked eyes with Kiriko, who had just walked out of the basement door.

"Nee-chan…"

Kiriko smiled softly at him and the distance between them quickly disappeared as Gou suddenly enveloped her in a tight hug, careful not to hug too tight due to his Roidmude parts in his arms.

"Welcome home Gou. Chase, you too. Come here and give me a hug too. After all…we're a family, aren't we? Professor Harley's told me everything." Kiriko held out one of her arms and Chase cautiously walked up to her, searching her eyes for any sign of deceit before joining in the hug.

—–

"Gou! Chase! I missed you boys so much!"

Both boys immediately ran to Harley and embraced the professor once Kiriko, Gou, and Chase entered the lab once the woman explained a bit about the situation.

Gou looked over to a smiling Shinnosuke and Rinna and turned back to the older man. "So…you're okay? This isn't really a trap? They're really…on our side?"

Chase looked everyone over stoically before locking eyes with Gou. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, not talking, before Chase broke contact and looked at Harley. "We were prepared to rescue you if that was the case. I'm glad it's not. It's good to see everyone again."

Harley smiled. "I wish I would have known about everyone's true intentions sooner. That way you all could have had more time to see each other. And Chase…go ahead and smile. I know you're dying to and it's weird seeing you so serious."

Chase chuckled, his smile growing wider. "They've only seen me with a stoic expression on my face. I didn't want to creep them out. But…you're right, I don't think I would have been able to keep it up for much longer."

—-

After Chase ran back to go get his and Gou's car and drive it home and sleeping arangements were moved around, everyone gathered back into the lab so everyone could explain on what had transpired in the five months since Gou and Chase were gone.

After showing Kiriko, Shinnosuke, and Rinna Gou's data on all the changes his body went through, Harley pulled up Chase's data and the security videos. "Alright, I told Kiriko as best I could and have been meaning to show her this, but since we're all on the same page, it's best to show all of you."

Once the video stopped playing, Chase turned to look at the three Tokujo members and smiled. "I'm…essentially human now…at least almost as much human as Gou is. My organic elements are almost indistinguishable from a human and I have most of the same bodily functions as humans. I know there's still a lot about humanity I need to learn, but Gou and Professor Harley have been very patient with me. It…feels nice to be cared about."

Kiriko put her hand on Chase's shoulder. "Once we find a way to get Krim off this manhunt of you two, I hope I can be helpful to you in that regard as well. After all…you're now my little brother as well."

Rinna began tapping a pen against the table. "What I really want to know is why Krim's been so persistent on getting Gou and Chase back. I mean their situation has been one we couldn't have even imagined, but still…him going through THESE means to find you? Or even wanting to put Gou's body in stasis from the beginning. All he cared about was his Core Driviar technology and not about how this would affect Gou and Chase. Even HE'S admitted to me before that he was proud of the progress and evolution you two have gone through since you became Riders. For him to suddenly just see you two as just another part of the Drive arsenal…it's…unusual."

Shinnosuke looked over to Kiriko. "Not to mention the relationships we had with him just seemed to disappear during this five months. He basically forced us to take his side on everything, spending most of our time trying to find them. I barely had time for my own police cases and didn't have any free time. And like I said, Kiriko, I know how much this whole thing affected you. You seemed like the one that suffered the most. It's almost like he was doing it to you on purpose…"

Gou had been silent for a while, taking in all the information. He looked over to Chase and the two made eye contact.

" _So Chase…with this information…it sounds like Krim's gone a full turnaround of his personality. He's almost starting to sound like… No…"_

" _Gou…you're not thinking what I'm thinking? Because if you are… It would explain the persistence Krim has been exerting. And_ _ **HE**_ _would have the tools to do it. We did leave leave your modified Mach Driver and Signal Machaser there. There's no telling_ _ **what**_ _he did to them."_

" _If he's resourceful as Krim and you and I both_ _ **know**_ _he is…then we didn't kill him. Banno's still…"_

The two boys broke out of their mental link and immediately rushed to Harley's computer and fake Core Driviar device, typing as fast as they could to separate the two systems, hoping that they weren't too late.

Harley ran up to the two. "Gou, Chase… what's wrong? What…?"

Gou looked up at the professor for a split second before returning to the computer. "We'll explain in a few minutes as soon as we get that device separated from your computer."

Chase looked up and make eye contact with Rinna. "Miss Rinna, is there any way you could quickly whip up some sort of computer signal jammer device? It might make this easier for us."

"Of course Chase!" Rinna began rummaging through a box of parts she had, quickly connecting bits and parts. In about five minutes, she had a small but powerful signal jammer that Chase instructed her to hook up to the tracking device.

—–

It took about thirty minutes, but Gou and Chase finally were satisfied that they had successfully separated the two systems. It helped that the computer that was hooked up to the device wasn't connected to any of Harley's other systems so the hacking that was trying to be done had quickly been cut off. Rinna's jammer would keep any other attempts at hacking that system or any of the others from happening.

Gou sighed and looked up at everyone. "Chase and I…think we know why Krim's been acting the way he is. Luckily we realized what might be the problem before it was too late and _**he**_ got into all of Harley's systems and ended up with Chase's and my data. And after spending all this time trying to prevent that from happening, our suspicions are correct."

Kiriko looked at the two, confusion and worry on her face, hoping they weren't going to say something she would dread. "What…suspicions?"

Chase closed his eyes, hurt evident on his face. "Of course he would want us back so bad, even corrupting and using Krim for that purpose. After all…Banno said we were his greatest creation so of course he would do everything he could to accomplish it."


	14. Chapter 14

Gou and Kiriko had wanted to spend time with each other before bed, so the two went off into the guest bedroom where Kiriko was now staying with Rinna to catch up on the five months they hadn't seen each other. Rinna and Harley decided to stay in the lab to add more security on Harley's computers.

Shinnosuke decided to get some fresh air and walked out on the back porch. He was surprised to meet Chase outside, who had been unloading the car of all of Gou's and his belongings.

"Hey Chase, need any help?"

The Roidmude shook his head as he began to walk inside. "This is the last box but thank you for the offer Shinnosuke."

"Um…wait Chase. Can I talk to you?"

Chase looked at Shinnosuke and nodded and sat the box down just inside the door. He joined the cop on the porch swing. "Is everything okay?"

Shinnosuke sighed. "Yeah… I just… It's been a weird and long day. A week…shoot… this entire five months. I just never expected that Krim could have possibly been corrupted this entire time. Why didn't any of us realize that could be the case? We worked with him for a year so…we should have realized that it wasn't really him…"

Chase put his hand on the cop's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it Shinnosuke. Coming from personal experience, Krim…has his moments as I'm sure you're aware. In the entire time I've known him, he never once talked about any family. He's not one to really grasp human relationships as well as one should. Even Banno…through the small bits of my memory I have retained during their testing of me, talked about his family more than Krim did."

"You've know Krim a long time, haven't you Chase?"

Chase nodded. "He was there during my initial activation, that much I remember. I don't know how much of my testing he was present for before Banno started the numbered Roidmudes and deactivated me, but the next time I saw Krim was when he reactivated me to become Proto-Drive. After that…well, you know. Although…I do wish he would have called me Chase at least more than once. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to start exploring humanity, to prove I'm capable of not being just my Roidmude number."

Shinnosuke smiled. "From what I know of Krim from knowing him, he's got to be shown or told that his method is harmful and he'll usually change his mind about something. Once we figure out how to rescue him from Banno, I'm sure if you tell him how you feel, he'll realize how badly he's treated you."

"I hope so. He's technically one of my creators, so he's sort of like a parent figure. I know we won't have the same relationship that Harley and I have in that regard, but I'd still like to know if he's proud of me for what I've accomplished."

"You've accomplished a lot Chase, even from just seeing you these past few hours. I had hoped that you and Gou would try to be friends once all the fighting was done but it's obvious that it's evolved way beyond that point. Actually…that's a bit on what I wanted to talk to you about. About your…feelings for a certain person… I know the last time we really talked was in the cafeteria…"

"Kiriko is my sister. While I was in Gou's body, both of us were assaulted by each other's memories. Any feelings of romantic love for her are gone due to the intense brotherly love Gou has for Kiriko transferring to me as well as her unknowing rejection of the confession I was going to make in her hospital room."

Shinnosuke looked at Chase confused. "Unknowing?"

The Roidmude smiled softly. "I asked her if she had any feelings for you. Her response was the exact same freakout like you had in the cafeteria. So, I decided to not confess since her heart belonged to you. It's a good thing I didn't because of the circumstances that happened. By the way, if you haven't…you should let Kiriko know how you feel about her, especially while you have the chance to be alone with her."

Shinnosuke sputtered, causing Chase to laugh. "Gou's right…you ARE hopeless… Do we have to lock you two in a room together so you can confess your feelings?"

"N…no! I'll…tell her…eventually…"

"If you don't, Gou and I WILL intervene. You don't want that to happen."

—-

Rinna walked back and forth in front of the whiteboard with the different plans everyone suggested. "Alright, due to Gou and Chase working quickly to separate Harley's computer from the tracking device, Banno wasn't able to get much data from that computer. However…there's no telling if he actually knows that they're actually here. We're going to have to be cautious about the situation when we get back to Japan to initiate our plans."

Chase pulled up blueprints on the computer he was at. "I've still got most of the plans of Krim's Driver technology still in my memory from when he explained everything to me and downloaded certain things I needed to know for the Driver to work. I'm sure if I go over these thoroughly, there might be a way to separate Krim's consciousness from Banno's. What my biggest concern is just exactly how much of Krim's systems Banno has corrupted."

Gou came up behind Chase and put his hand on Chase's shoulder. "Not to mention the fact on how far Banno's backed himself up. No doubt he's just as resilient as Krim was and has several backups. We need to single each one out and take it down and make sure he can't back himself up anywhere else before we finally destroy him for good, while also trying to rescue Krim."

Harley noticed the looks Gou and Chase were giving each other, the same looks the two got when they would mentally talk to each other. His face grew grim. "Boys…what are you up to?"

They both looked up at the professor, not saying a word. Finally Gou sighed. "This isn't a physical fight. It'll be a mental one. And the only ones that can actually enter the digital consciousnesses of Krim and Banno would be…us. I have just enough of a Roidmude body to at least transfer my mind into data. Both of us would have to enter whatever cyberspace world they're in and destroy Banno as well as protecting and saving Krim."

"Since both Gou and I have memories of both Banno and Krim, we'll be able to tell who is who and accurately separate the two. Since we'll both be in there, we'll be able to back each other up should something…"

"NO!" Kiriko stood up, interrupting Chase and walked over to the two, quickly slapping them. "Neither of you will be doing that! It's far too dangerous! What if Banno tries to corrupt either of you? What if that's been his plan all along? He's trying to get you back and you two actually WANT to fall into his hands like that!?"

Gou looked at his sister sadly as she cradled her hand and pulled her into a hug. "Nee-chan…it's the only way that will destroy him for good that won't cause damage to Krim. We don't want to do it either, but…Chase and I are tired of hiding. It's been a long five months and I just want us to all be a family again. If you were in our position, I know you'd do the exact same thing. Please…let us do this."

Kiriko looked at Gou and then at Chase. "Promise me. Both of you promise me right now that if something goes wrong, you get out as soon as possible. I don't want anything to happen to you two."

Chase smiled softly at Kiriko. "Don't worry, we've been talking a few things over with Rinna. We won't be going in there unprepared. There's a way we may be able to enter in our Rider forms for an extra layer of protection."

Rinna wrote a rough guideline of the plan on the whiteboard. "And I'll be working behind the scenes on my computer in Japan to monitor everything. I'll have to create a similar setup for your computers Professor Harley, so you'll be able to help should things start getting a bit heated for them. Anyway, we won't be able to start this until after we get back and we've still got a day left before we leave, so I suggest that we all spend the last day doing something fun."

Kiriko looked at everybody before landing her eyes on Gou. "Actually…I have a suggestion. It may be a few weeks late…but Gou and I had been planning his twentieth birthday for years. We'll have to do a bit of tweaking to our plan, but I'd like to celebrate your birthday. As for you Chase, I need to make up for lost birthday time as well. So how about it?"

Harley clapped his hands. "Wonderful idea Kiriko! We'll have to go shopping for supplies, but I think we can whip up a good celebration for our boys!"


	15. Chapter 15

Gou reluctantly let go of his sister after giving her the hugest hug he could muster without hurting her and looked her in the eyes one last time. "Nee-chan… I…"

Kiriko smiled and reached up to smooth down a few pieces of his hair, like she had done when they were younger. "Once we're back in Japan and get the plan underway, hopefully everything will turn out okay and we won't have need for tearful goodbyes like this."

"I'LL DO IT! YOU TWO STAY OUT OF IT!"

The loud shout from Shinnosuke as he walked up with Chase forced Gou, Kiriko, Rinna, and several people in their vicinity of the terminal to stop what they were doing and stare at the cop, causing the man's cheeks to grown red and he quickly rushed by the group to get in the metal detector line. "W…we should get moving! Our plane leaves soon!"

Chase and Gou gave the two women one last hug a piece and waved them off as they joined Shinnosuke before they started to walk back to their car.

"So…Chase… what was that all about with Shin-nii-san?"

Chase snorted and shook his head. "Another thing I have apparently copied from you is the ability to see that Shinnosuke and Kiriko really make a cute couple. And from the fact that I have been witness to them unknowingly confessing their love for each other, I gave "Shin-nii-san" an ultimatum to confess his feeling for "Nee-chan" soon or we would intervene."

Gou held his hand up to his mouth to hold in his laughter. "Chase…you are the BEST brother ever!"

—-

"Rinna, it's good to have you back here in the lab. When I wasn't able to contact you the last few days, I was worried something had happened. Did…something happen? I wasn't able to connect to the tracking device at all to monitor progress."

Rinna sat at her computer in the Drive Pit, typing furiously, trying to not make eye contact with the belt on the stand beside her. "Sorry about that Krim. A few hours after we activated the tracking device, I noticed someone trying to hack into the computer that Harley and I had connected to the device. Since we couldn't identify who was causing it, we decided to cut the connection. Harley had said someone had tried to hack one of his computers in Kansas, so we automatically thought Gou and Chase were trying to access the device to sabotage it. If we had known it was you, we wouldn't have gone through everything we did. We were afraid of contacting you in case it was them and they had a way of figuring out how to listen in since that was the only computer that was trying to be accessed."

The belt showed his grim face. "Ah, sorry about that Rinna. I should have told you what I was doing. After all…I really hate when there are secrets being kept between all of us. It's such a betrayal of trust. Wouldn't you agree Rinna?"

"Of course Krim. By the way, as I was working on the tracking device and saw that it worked, I had an idea that I wanted to ask you about. I think I may be able to boost the output of the device by analyzing the Machaser Signal Bike. It's got the info of both Gou and Chase and since that's who we're looking for, the signal of Machaser would match the signal that they emit from their body. Also…once I get that unique signal, I was wondering if I could try to separate the data of the two and make them separate Signal Bikes again? It might help you when you work to separate them."

"Hmmm. I can let you use it to find the signal, but I'd rather make my own calculations on how to separate the Bikes myself. Not that I don't trust you to make it work…but it's a interesting experiment that I'd like to solely work on."

The combined Signal Bike drove up on Rinna's desk and the woman put it in her pocket. "I'll work on it when I get home. My computer setup at home has all of the tracker data on it and won't be able to be hacked in case something happens. If I get any results, I'll duplicate them here at the lab. Also, from what Harley observed, I think the next lab they'll try to access is the one in Utah, followed by New York. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch them by then. Anyway, I've got to go grocery shopping before getting home. That week long trip was nice, but it's time to get back into routine. I'll see you tomorrow Krim."

Rinna stepped out of the Drive Pit and took the Signal Bike out of her pocket. Quickly scanning it with a small device she made to get rid of any brainwashing and reprogramming the Bike potentially went through, she made sure to leave the building before trying to talk to it.

"So Machaser, you ready to become Mach and Chaser and help your true masters again? Also…whatever data you have of when Banno combined you as well as Gou and Chase would be helpful as well."

The Bike had two distinct beeps to identify it being Mach or Chaser and alternated between the two excitedly, happy to finally be free and be helpful to their users again.

—-

It was hard for Shinnosuke and Kiriko to keep up the act in the office, especially since they didn't know if Krim had some way of listening in and how loyal to Krim the others were. They had their suspicions the others were just like them, but unless they were absolutely sure, they both had to keep silent in case they were wrong. They were glad that the plan was proceeding well and that they were almost ready to start it.

Rinna and Harley kept in contact everyday, going over the plans they were making for Gou and Chase to enter in the mindspace that Banno and Krim were in. Since Chase's body was technically stronger since it was still fully Roidmude despite his organic elements, he would easily be able to transfer his entire body into data to enter the space. Gou however, would only be able to transfer his mind due to his mainly human body. Still, the two would now have the added protection of their Rider forms to help battle Banno and destroy him for good.

—

Gou laid down on one of the beds in the lab, making himself comfortable, while Harley attached sensors on the boy's body to monitor his vital signs. Chase was making a test run on transferring his body into data along with the special communication devices the two had been working on the entire week so that they could still be in contact with Harley and Rinna while they were in Banno's territory. Harley checked on everything one last time before turning on the computer he used to talk to Krim. Gou grabbed the sensors that would allow him to transfer his mind to the computer and attached them to his temple.

"You boys be careful and come back to me, you hear?"

The two nodded and Chase walked over to Gou and grabbed his hand. They closed their eyes and a few moments later, Chase had disappeared and Gou went limp. Harley went to the computer that was linked with the communication devices and Rinna. "Alright Rinna, they're in."


	16. Chapter 16

Although it was a digital environment, the air seemed thick and electricity crackled around Gou and Chase as they began walking around the ruined remains of what looked to be huge multi-roomed laboratory, no doubt to reflect the the consciousnesses of both Banno and Krim.

The communication devices crackled in their ears and Rinna began talking to them. "Can you two hear me? I'm sending the schematics of your Drivers and Signal Bikes directly to you. I was successful in separating Mach and Chaser from each other and they have information on this place that you need. As soon as you can, transform into your Rider forms. I'm starting to work on cutting off all the computers Banno may have corrupted, so he won't be able to jump to them."

The two transformed just as they were attacked by numberless Roidmudes and with their enhanced power, Mach and Chaser quickly wiped them out.

"Chase, we must be getting close to where Banno is, otherwise he wouldn't have sent them out for us. They must be deeper in this place, probably in the middle."

Chase grabbed Gou by the arm just before he stepped on a oddly colored tile. "Wait! I…remember… This place… It's the lab that Banno and Krim created me in. They're not directly in the middle, but off to the side in a secret lab Banno used to keep Krim from finding out some of the changes he tried making to my programming. The way you were going would have led us to the main lab, but no doubt would have been a trap."

The Roidmude stood in front of the tile and tapped it with his foot in a pattern and a secret door in the wall slid back to reveal a hallway. "Come on Gou. This way. And be careful. Don't step on any of the grey tiles. They'll activate the lasers."

Once setting down the signal device a few feet away to use when they wanted Harley to bring them back, they made their way deeper in the lab, occasionally checking behind them in order to not be ambushed. About halfway through the hallway, the two began to hear muffled shouting and Banno's unmistakable cackling. Once they got to the open doorway, they stood on either side and nodded to each other, before brandishing their guns and charging in.

Banno was in his Gold Drive form and was walking around a lab table with Krim in his human form strapped to it. The scientist stopped when the two Riders pointed their guns at him. "Ah…Gou and Chase. I was wondering when you two would finally get here. I had a feeling Harley had been lying to me all this time. Seeing you both just confirmed that. And I see Rinna went behind my back to separate your little Signal Bikes like I thought she would. I guess that worked in my favor though…you BOTH seem stronger apart than when I initially combined you two."

Gou snarled and gripped Zenrin Shooter tighter, his finger on the trigger. "Let Krim go now!"

Krim struggled against his restraints and tried to look at the two Riders. "Gou! Proto-zero! Forget about me! Just go and take out the reactor in the main laboratory! That's where our consciousnesses are kept! If it's destroyed, Banno won't be able to come back!"

Chase slammed the button on his Driver four times to activate his speed boost. "We're on a rescue mission to get you back. We're not leaving until that happens. Gou, get ready!"

"Chase! What are you…!?"

The Roidmude rushed at Banno, shooting at him with Break Gunner, knocking the scientist back against the wall. Quickly undoing all of Krim's restraints, he pulled the man up and threw him into Gou's arms. Quickly stepping away from the table and Banno, who had got his second wind, the two Riders started to run out of the lab with Krim in tow.

Gou began to run through the hall with Krim and realized that Chase wasn't beside him. He looked behind him to see Chase stopped in the hall, pointing his gun at the doorway. "Chase! Come on! Let's go!"

"Get Krim out of here! Don't worry about me! I'll hold him off and then I'll…"

A giant fire blast hit the purple Rider and he slammed on the ground as Banno appeared in the doorway before starting to walk toward him. Gou began to come back for Chase when the Roidmude blasted at his feet with his gun. "GET KRIM OUT OF HERE GOU! If Banno gets either of you, then our plan will have been for nothing! You're not strong enough to take him on your own!"

"But…"

" _ **GO!"**_

"I'll be back for you Chase! I promise! Just hold on until I get back!"

With one more reluctant glance at his best friend and brother, Gou turned back and helped Krim run out of the hallway to the signal device. He activated it and the next thing he knew, he was staring at the blinding white walls of Harley's lab. Gou quickly sat up and began to rip off all the sensors off of him. He turned his body to the computer behind him and closed his eyes, concentrating.

A hand grabbed his jacket and pulled him away. Gou turned around sharply to see Harley angrily frowning at him. "What do you think you're doing Gou!?"

Gou stared at Harley, pain in his eyes. "Let me go Harley! I have to save Chase! My mind just being in there isn't strong enough, but if I transfer my body, I'll be on par with Banno's strength!"

Harley held on to the boy's arm, refusing to let go. "Doing that…transferring your entire body…That would KILL every part of your human body Gou! I can't…!"

"I DON'T CARE! I HAVE TO GET CHASE BACK! HE'S _**MY**_ BROTHER! HE'S _**YOUR**_ SON!" Gou yanked his arm out of the professor's grasp and stepped back to the computer.

"Gou…"

Tears welled up in the boy's eyes and his body began to shake. "All those times…Chase protected me while we were Riders…even when I screamed in his face that I hated him. Even when I refused to say we were friends or even acknowledge him as part of the team…he still stayed by my side and made sure to risk his own safety so nothing would happen to me. Banno…was moments away from killing me with the Signal Ax while I was untransformed. Chase…he took the blow meant for me…he fell in my arms. And then…when his body exploded and seeing his Core… I have to save him. I have to protect him. He's my best friend, my brother. Please Harley…please trust me."

Harley bridged the gap between the two and pulled Gou into a hug. "Okay Gou, I trust you. I…don't know what will happen to your body, but if you can at least come back as some sort of Core, we can build a body like Chase's for you. Please come back."

Gou pulled away and smiled softly at the professor before turning to the computer. He closed his eyes and concentrated, working his Roidmude parts as much as he could to digitize himself into the computer.

"I'm coming Chase."

—–

Gou was only gone for a few minutes before the computer Harley was keeping contact with Rinna beeped, signalling he had a message. He wiped his eyes and sat down to answer the message. Rinna appeared on the screen as well as Krim in the spare Driver Rinna had fixed up.

"Alright Harley! Krim's fully in this Driver and all traces of him have been eliminated in the corrupted computers. We've also cut every contact Banno has with them, so once they destroy that main reactor in his mind, he'll be destroyed!"

Krim wheeled up closer. "How's Gou doing? I'd like to thank him for rescuing me. And apologize for all the torment I put him through."

Harley sighed and looked down. "He went back for Chase…as in…he fully went in there, body and all."

Rinna slammed her hands down. "What!? But…his human body wouldn't be able to survive being digitized like that! How is he going to…?!"

"I don't know Rinna! I don't! But…I trust him. I trust them to come home to me. I… Krim, can I ask you a favor? Can you give me the blueprints for Mad Doctor? They might be needed in case…"

"Of course Harley. Anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask. I'm indebted to both of them for rescuing me."


	17. Chapter 17

The bright lights of the operating table momentarily blinded Chase as he woke up. He felt numb all over and cold, probably due to the fact that he had a few IVs and wires in his arm and he had nothing on but a sheet draped around his torso. Memories of Banno's tests on him, his forced brainwashing and modification, and Gou's memories of being in this similar situation flashed through his mind, sending more shivers throughout his body. He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to let his tears fall. At least Gou and Krim were safe now and there was nothing Banno could do to him that he hadn't done already.

"Proto-Zero, you've been such a bad little Roidmude, going against your master like this. It hurts that you would attack me after I've done so much for you. I'm the reason you even _**EXIST**_." Banno grabbed a fistful of Chase's hair and yanked his head up, forcing the Roidmude to whimper and open his eyes to stare at the gold Rider. The scientist let go of the black hair and leaned down, wrapping his fingers around Chase's throat, tightening his grip every few seconds until Chase was gasping.

Banno quickly let go to allow the Roidmude to catch his breath. "Don't forget that your life is _**MINE**_. Everything you are is _**MINE**_. And I am actually quite delighted that you've managed to evolve despite your primitiveness. Your body is remarkable from what I've been able to examine, blending mechanical and organic elements to work co-dependently. You've even surpassed what I did to Gou's body. It works quite well for my advantage of being able to use normal human numbing agents on your body while keeping you awake. In hindsight, I'm glad I based your Roidmude body on the human form instead of an animal. Your body will do quite nicely for my use when I return to the real world."

Chase's eyes grew wide. "What?!"

The scientist cackled, walking around the table. "Don't think I don't know what your teammates have done. They've cut me off and destroyed every backup of myself I had and it won't be too long before they destroy my main consciousness and rescue you, so I've decided to delete your mind and Core from this body and upload my mind into it, much like I did to 006. They wouldn't even realize it wasn't you until it was too late. After all, it took _**FIVE**_ months for you all to figure out that you were actually talking to me instead of Krim."

Chase struggled weakly against his restraints, hoping that his mechanical parts would override his organic parts and break his bonds. Banno turned from the machine he was working at and chuckled. "Oh Proto-Zero, it's useless for you to try that. I made sure to take every consideration for that body of yours. One of those wires sends electrical shocks throughout your body, scrambling the signals to your…well I guess it would be easier to call it your brain. It's certainly shaped like one."

Banno pulled the sheet off of Chase's body and poked a few places on the Roidmude's upper chest, searching for something. Finally he placed his gloved finger just above where Chase's Number plate would be if he were in his Roidmude form. He held up a sharp scalpel and slowly lowered it toward where his finger was placed internally smirking that the boy's eyes had a glazed dead look on his face. "So, I see that you've finally realized it's hopeless for you. Now…let's get this useless Core out of my new body."

—-

Gou inwardly cursed as he hurriedly made his way through the ruined labs of Banno's mind. His entry point this time was nowhere near where he and Chase initially were transported or even close to where Banno's secret lab was. Signal Mach helped as best it could, but without knowing where they were, finding Chase was going to be difficult.

To make matters worse, he was finding it difficult to move his body even in his Rider form, no doubt the result of his human body not being able to adapt to the virtual world as well as his Roidmude parts. He pushed forward, ignoring his weakness as he desperately tried to see something that was familiar. There was no telling what Banno could and would do to Chase and both were running out of time.

"Chase…where ARE you!?"

"G…Gou…?"

Gou stopped and his eyes widened when he heard Chase's shaky reply in his head. "Chase…can you tell me where you are? I'm here to rescue you but I didn't enter in the same location as last time."

There was a whimper from the Roidmude. "Is…is there anything you can identify like a specific machine or room?"

Gou looked around the hallway he was in. "There's three rooms where I'm at, all on the left side. Lots of chemicals in each and big glass windows."

"Y…you're not far. Take a right at the end, go down that hallway, that will…be the…the hallway that the…lab is in. It's where we…rescued Krim."

The whimpers and groans in Chase's voice were apparent and Gou frowned. "Just hold on Chase! I'm coming!"

The Rider ran as fast as his legs would carry him, knowing that Banno was probably well into whatever he was doing to Chase. He summoned his gun and ran through the hall to Banno's lab, slamming into the door and blasting the scientist's hand just as he was about to reach in to pluck Chase's Core from his chest.

"Gou! How dare you!" Banno clutched his injured hand as he tried to reach for Chase's Break Gunner on one of the other tables.

The scientist reacted a split second too late as Gou initiated a speed boost and grabbed the gun before him. Using both, the Rider quickly shot and punched the gold Rider into one of the machines on the back wall and shot the machine to damage it. Banno screamed as electricity traveled to his body, short-circuiting it and the blackened body fell soon after, crumbling into dust as it hit the floor.

Gou de-transformed and made his way to the table Chase was strapped to. Although his eyes were pained and full of tears, Chase had a grateful smile on his face. "Gou…you shouldn't have co…"

"Oh no Chase! You're not doing the noble sacrifice to save me without any regards to your safety this time! This time, I'm the one doing it! And of course I would come! You're my brother! I wasn't about to leave you to that madman."

Gou quickly made progress in releasing Chase from his restraints, taking careful measures to remove the IVs and wires. He frowned as he saw the incision in Chase's chest and his Core peeking through the hole. "Chase…I don't know how we'll…"

"I just need something to seal it for now. Since this is a virtual world, when we return to the real world, I'll be okay since this is all in the mind. But the more pressing matter is that we need to take out the main reactor of Banno's mind. Otherwise he'll come back."

Chase digitized himself new clothes after covering his wound with a bandage and after the two transformed back into their Rider forms and set a signal for Harley to bring them back, ran down the hallway to the main lab where the last of Banno's consciousness was.

—-

The reactor was surrounded by several numberless Reaper Roidmudes, but without direction of Banno, the two Riders quickly made work of them and ran up to the control panel.

The communication devices were still active and Krim's voice entered their helmets. "From my time in that reactor, I've pinpointed the exact places you need to hit to destroy it. Proto-Zero, take Break Gunner and Zenrin Shooter and shoot the areas I'm sending you. Gou, I'm sending the data of the Signal Ax to you. Materialize it and hit the exact center of the areas Proto-Zero shoots. After that, get out as fast as you can. The reactor will explode, destroying everything."

Chase began to shoot the areas as Gou came up behind him and struck them with the Ax, going around in a circle. Once the last one was hit and the reactor started to crackle with electricity, the two began to run as fast as they could back to their signal point.

Around halfway to the point, Gou's legs buckled beneath him and his knees hit the floor hard, forcing him out of his transformation. He started shaking and breathing heavily, feeling his body start to shut down as his human body finally started to die. He closed his eyes. "Sorry Harley…Chase… I can't…"

"Gou!"

Gou looked up to see Chase had de-transformed and was running back to him. "Just forget about me Chase! I…don't think…I'll be able to survive in the real world anyway. I transferred my entire body in here to rescue you so my human body is dying. I've tried to create myself a Core…but… I'm sorry… I can't…"

Chase took in all the information Gou had told him as he scooped up the boy, momentarily glancing at the large explosion forming in the main lab and started to run as fast as he could with Gou in his arms. "We'll think of something when we get back. You're _**NOT**_ going to die on me. You've gone through too much to just die like this! So hold on!"

The Roidmude reached the signal and activated it moments before the explosive blast hit their location and the two boys found themselves back in Harley's lab, Gou still in Chase's arms.

Gou looked at Chase with pain filled eyes and smiled softly at him before he was wracked with a coughing fit that resulted in blood coming from the boy's mouth. He started shuddering and convulsing violently, his skin growing cold and paler than it was.

Chase looked up to see Harley running to the two and the man got to his knees, taking in Gou's situation. "I…I had made a healing device based on Mad Doctor…but I didn't know it would be this bad. It can only heal his body if it's alive, but at the rate his human parts are dying… I think his Roidmude parts are the only things that have kept him alive for this long…but they'll soon fail. Oh Gou…my son…"

As Gou's body grew colder and his shuddering started to slow, Chase looked at Harley's shaking body as the man sobbed and then looked down to Gou's prone face. His hold on his brother grew tighter as he closed his eyes and concentrated as his own tears began to fall. "Please…let this work…Please…I can't lose him. I can't fail him again."

A sharp golden light enveloped the two, quickly taking over the entire room.


	18. Chapter 18

It had taken a week for Krim and the rest of the Tokujo members to go through and analyze every computer and piece of equipment Banno may have had access to in order to confirm that the scientist was indeed gone. There were small bits of code and programs that could have potentially been troublesome, but they were quickly purged and deleted.

After five long months, the final part that plagued them in the Roidmude threat was finally gone…at the cost of Gou's human life.

—

Chase took Gou's pale hand into his and squeezed gently, staring at the boy's still face, searching for any sort of sign that Gou was awakening. The Roidmude had barely ate or slept the entire week, refusing to leave Gou's side in the lab. As such, the lack of energy had created several times where Harley would come in to find Chase passed out with his head on the side of Gou's bed forcing the man to threaten the Roidmude to eat or he'd hook him up to the nutrient solution like Gou was hooked up to.

"Chase, make sure you eat everything okay?"

The Roidmude looked up, the dark bags under his eyes apparent on his pale skin, and shakily took the bowl from Harley's hands, nodding once. Harley waited until Chase had started to eat before walking away to his main lab to look over the new data from Gou that came in every hour to see if there was any change that would let them know when Gou would wake up.

—-

Even with Harley's tests and Krim's research, with the small bits of Banno's research on the Roidmudes that Krim decided to keep, no one knew how Chase did what he did to Gou's body, not even Chase himself.

Chase thought it was impossible since having a new body and going through a Super Evolution, that he was even able to sync with his old parts in Gou's body, but somehow, either through sheer will or their still connected bond, Chase was able to trigger an evolution in Gou's body to save his life. However, it came at a cost. Since a Roidmude evolution was only made for Roidmudes, Gou's dying human body was destroyed, replaced by a body similar to Chase's. He was alive, but he was now fully Roidmude, only able to call himself as human as Chase was.

Gou had also not woken up for an entire week, forcing Harley to create a nutrient solution based on the boys' notes and observations on Chase's body so the boy would have something in his body for the Roidmude healing to kick in. Harley was worried that Gou had been in a week long coma, but knowing what the two boys had went through when they first got here, Gou would wake up when his body was ready for him to.

The professor was more worried about Chase. He had never seen the boy this stressed or worried, even when Gou had been working himself too hard to learn how to use his Roidmude parts. While Chase didn't talk as much as Gou did, it hurt the man that the Roidmude had barely said but a few words to anyone, even refusing to talk to Kiriko when she had asked for him.

Harley didn't want to assume, but he was beginning to think that Chase blamed himself for the condition Gou was in. He kept reassuring the boy that he had saved his brother, that Gou would appreciate being given a second chance, and that when his body healed from all the changes done to it, Gou would wake up. Chase would just nod, still holding on to Gou's hand, still keeping vigil in his chair by Gou's bed. Harley hoped Chase believed him.

—

Chase was moments from nodding off when the hand he was holding in his own twitched slightly. Chase's eyes shot open and he gently squeezed Gou's hand, resulting in the hand to weakly squeeze back a few moments later.

"Gou?"

Gou's eyelids fluttered and he blearily tried opening his eyes, the sharp light in the room hurting them. Chase quickly left Gou's side and dimmed the lights before returning and gently placing his hand on Gou's shoulder. Gou tried opening his eyes again, blinking them repeatedly to wake himself up. He looked over to the Roidmude beside him that was tiredly smiling at him in relief. He took in his brother's disheveled appearance. It was obvious Chase looked like he hadn't taken care of himself in a while.

"You look like crap. …I probably look the same way…"

"It's because of you, you idiot." Chase chuckled, lightly tapping Gou's shoulder.

Gou groaned, trying to flex his body to get rid of the soreness. "What happened? Last thing I remember is hearing Harley start crying and then a bright light. Did we win? Is Banno gone?"

Chase closed his eyes, looking down and refusing to look Gou in the eyes. "We won…Banno's gone finally. Everything he might have corrupted has been purged of him. He'll never be a threat again. …Gou… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I… I didn't want you to die. I just wanted to save you. But…"

Gou noticed the tears trying to form in Chase's eyes. Concern formed in his mind and he forced himself to try to raise himself up to a sitting position, careful of the IV in his arm, noting he was in far less pain than he normally would be in this situation.

"Chase…what's wrong? What happened? I'm fine…as far as I can tell."

Chase mumbled something that Gou couldn't quite hear and the boy reached over to take the Roidmude's hand in his own, squeezing it gently. Chase looked up, sorrow in his face. "I…synchronized with my old parts…forced them into a Super Evolution…I… I turned you into a full Roidmude… Your body is just like mine."

The room was silent for several minutes while Gou took in the words that Chase told him. He looked down at the IV in his arm and gently pulled it out before shifting himself closer to the Roidmude beside his bed and leaning across, pulling Chase into a hug which he eagerly returned. "I guess we really CAN call ourselves twins now. Don't blame yourself for what happened. I already told you long ago that I've accepted the fact that I was part Roidmude. Actually…I'm glad I'm just like you now."

"But…"

Gou sighed and patted Chase on the back. "I…kept it hidden from you and believe me, it was hard to do with our shared mental link. I was worried about you Chase…about what would happen when we got older, about what my human body would do. I don't know how long a Roidmude body will last…but I knew eventually my human body would start to fail me, even before all this stuff with Banno. I…didn't want to leave you alone, especially after all we've been through. I don't know how much time has passed, but if me being in this state while my body healed after what you did to save me caused you to be in the state you're in, I don't think you would have been okay for long when my human body eventually died. Chase…please, you didn't do anything wrong."

Chase sniffed and his grip on Gou became tighter as Gou rubbed circles in the Roidmude's back. "I… I kept thinking I did the worst thing to you this entire week… And then you wouldn't wake up and I thought you wouldn't ever… And I just…thought that you would hate me for what I did if you DID wake up… And I couldn't… Thank you Gou. Thank you for…for…"

"You're my brother Chase. I could never be mad at you. Now…I think it's time we go tell and show Harley that his sons are both okay… and maybe get something to eat. If I've been hooked up to whatever was in that IV, that means it's been a while since I've had food and you look starved. After that, you're going to bed. You look terrible. I'll lay down with you, but you ARE going to sleep."

—

After an emotional reunion with Harley and getting much needed food in them, Gou and Chase went to bed while Harley stayed up to make travel arrangements for the three to go to Japan. Krim had wanted to see all three of them once Gou had some time to recover and Kiriko had been frantically worried about both Gou and Chase after Harley told her what happened after they got back from destroying Banno.

Harley knew the boys would be happy to see everyone again and Gou was planning to grab a few of his things he had to leave in Japan since both were wanting to stay with Harley for a while to help him with his research. However, he was worried about what Krim wanted with them. Harley knew that the two knew that it was Krim and not Banno talking, but he knew the day that the two ran away to America still plagued their dreams. He just hoped that whatever Krim wanted with them was positive, otherwise he was ready to fight for his two boys again. After all, as Gou had clearly made him realize, they were his sons and no one hurt his family and would get away with it as long as he was around.


	19. Chapter 19

The Drive Pit looked almost as good as new from the last time Gou and Chase saw it months ago before they ran away to America. The garage doors had been replaced and most of the debris had been cleaned and picked up. There was still damage to the walls that would have to be patched up and painted, but other than that, the place was usable again. The boys noticed Rides Macher and Chaser off to the side, covered with tarps and the look they gave each other confirmed both wanted to ride their bike again.

Harley, Gou, and Chase had arrived in Japan the previous day, Harley staying at Shinnosuke's and the two boys staying at Kiriko's. They had used the rest of the day to recover from the jet lag from the time difference. Krim had wanted everyone to meet him in the Drive Pit the following day and both Gou and Chase were a bit apprehensive about the matter. While their bodies did have organic elements to them, they were still both Roidmudes and still had Core Driviar technology. Although they didn't want to, they were prepared to run again if Krim wanted to lock them up.

Once Otta arrived after rushing down there from his duties in First Division, Krim wheeled himself closer to the group. "First of all, I want to tell you all that I'm very proud of the work all of you have done in handling the Roidmude threat. There's been a lot changes and growth for everyone here and while there were many rough patches, I believe everyone here will walk away from this with their head held high with what we've all accomplished. I've already talked to most of you personally on your individual accomplishments and now it's time for me to address the final members of our group. First of all…I'd really like to thank Gou and Proto-Zero for…"

Krim's line of vision was obscured a purple and black sweater as Chase grabbed the belt off the pedestal and began walking off with Krim to the side door that would lead them to the roof. "We'll be back in a few moments. There is important business I have with Krim before we continue."

Kiriko looked at Chase's retreating form in shock, turning to look at Shinnosuke and Gou. "Should we be worried Krim's being belt-napped by Chase?"

Shinnosuke shook his head and smiled. "No. There's something that Chase needs to get off his mind in regards to Krim, things that he's wanted to tell Krim for a while now."

—

Chase had put the belt around his waist and stared off at the scenery that the roof of the building showed, carefully going through what he wanted to say to Krim in his head.

"Proto-Zero, whatever you want to say, you could have…"

"Chase. My name…is Chase. That's the human name I was given and I'd like to be called by it. To call me Proto-Zero makes me feel like you do not acknowledge the evolution and growth in humanity I've gone through since my creation."

The only noise for several minutes were the sounds of pulling in and driving off in the parking lot under them. Chase sighed and turned to go back inside. He had wanted to say more, but his initial words would have to be enough.

"…Chase… I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was hurting you by calling you Proto-Zero all this time. I am very proud of what you've done, in both your Rider duties and from what Harley's told me about you and Gou while under his care. I…have failed as a creator in not understanding your feelings and not knowing what was best for you."

"Thank you Krim. I…apologize for interrupting what you wanted to say to us, but I had talked to Shinnosuke while they were in America and he convinced me that I should tell you how I felt at the first possible moment. I figured before anything else, this matter should have been resolved."

"Chase, you shouldn't apologize for saying what's on your mind, especially when it comes to matters of your feelings. It's not good to bottle your feelings up inside, especially when someone's done you wrong like I have. I'm glad we could resolve it before anything else happened."

Chase smiled and nodded and turned to walk back inside. "We should get back. I know you have a lot to say to everyone. And thank you again Krim. It means a lot to me to hear those words."

—–

Once Chase had attached Krim back to his belt base and took his position by Gou's side, Krim looked around the room again, taking a few more seconds to look at Chase before looking at everyone as a whole. "Now that a certain matter is settled, I'll continue. I'd like to thank Gou and Chase for their exemplary work in defeating Banno, both five months ago and then a week ago and for rescuing me. Both of you have gone though the most changes and growth and I'm very proud of the two young men you have become. I hope that whatever you two end up doing in the future will be satisfying and fulfilling to both of you and that you'll be able to take that journey together."

Both boys smiled. "Thank you Krim."

The face on the belt grew grim. "Now…for the difficult part of this. While Banno would have no doubt corrupted the rest of the Drive arsenal for his use, it WAS my original plan to lock up everything that we used to fight the Roidmudes until there was a time that the technology could be used for good. As such, I am sticking to that plan and will lock everything up. I will miss you all, but it's a decision that I feel is the best for the time being."

The room grew silent and apprehensive while everyone took in Krim's words, especially Gou and Chase. Harley shifted slightly to try to put the two behind him and the two stepped back slowly.

Krim looked around the room, noticing the tension, and his face grew wide. "R…relax everyone! I'm not implying I'm going to lock Gou and Chase up! I do realize they have Core Driviars and from the evolution Gou's body has gone through, that there is now no way I could remove his, but I have no intention to seal them away! I did just say I wanted the technology to be used for good and that I wanted both of them to be successful in their future goals. I can't think of a worthier purpose of the technology than it helping you two in your goals."

The belt took in the relieved faces of the two and the rest of the group and looked at Harley. "Harley, you've done a fine job raising them in these last few months. I can see you care about them more than Banno ever did or even myself in regards to Chase. I can see the love you have for them."

Harley smiled. "I fully claim them as my sons. I can't think of them any other way. After all, family can be anybody, as long as you care for each other."

Krim took in everyone one last time before enacting a blue force field around the Tridoron, trapping himself and the rest of the arsenal. "I hope that the next time I see all of you, if there does come a time, that this family I see before me is slightly bigger. Until then…"

The area began to lower when Gou noticed Chase's and his bikes weren't being sealed up. "Krim! What about Macher and Chaser? Shouldn't they be locked up too? You were…well Banno… They were going to be locked up last time."

Krim stopped lowering the circle and chuckled. "I figured you two needed something to help get you around, despite Harley telling me he got you a car. Don't worry, I've taken all the weapons out and disabled the Ride Crosser system so they won't combine. They can easily be put back if trouble arises. You two enjoy them."

The Drive arsenal finished lowering and a door sealed up the area. Everyone stayed silent as they took in everything, before Gou and Chase made their way over to Macher and Chaser and threw the tarps off them.

"I don't know about you Chase, but I'm dying to ride around the city."

Chase chuckled. "It's been a long time. You know…I don't think I every rode Chaser around for anything other than work. It'll be nice for a leisure ride finally."

Kiriko ran up to them, holding up their licenses they left behind. "Well boys, you won't be able to unless you have these! Oh, and watch out for one particular motorcycle traffic cop out there. It's the human Chase copied. Tomari-san and I met him a few months ago. Nice young man, but VERY serious and a big stickler for rules. Don't get arrested."

—-

It had only been about two months after Shinnosuke finally asked Kiriko out that he had proposed and began to plan for their wedding four months later. The two were worried that they were moving too fast, but Gou quickly told them that most the Tokujo group had pretty much saw them together from the beginning, they just didn't realize it, so they had been together a lot longer than they thought.

Gou took in his brother's purple striped outfit and shook his head. "Chase…I cannot BELIEVE you're wearing that!"

Chase looked down and furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong with it? Kiriko said I looked adorable and handsome in it. Besides, it was the only suit in the shop that had any purple in it and Kiriko refused to let me wear anything that didn't."

"You CAN tell Nee-chan no you know. She'll get mad but she'll eventually let it go."

"Gou, I've learned that you do _**NOT**_ tell a bride no on ANY decision she makes about her wedding. Considering she's wearing special shoes that can injure Roidmudes, I will say yes to anything. Besides, I keep getting predatory glances from a lot of the females here. I think they like what they see."

Gou rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Of course Nee-chan would make sure your outfit showed off your ass. Just…make sure you stay away from Nee-chan's friend Nero from her high school days. That chick ALWAYS creeped me out. In fact…stay away from all of her old school friends. I'll let you know who they are."

Once Chase saw how vicious women got during weddings, especially once Kiriko threw her bouquet and a bloody Rinna emerged victorious and hunted down Otta to kiss him, the Roidmude vowed he didn't want anything to do with females for the time being, hoping he wouldn't break too many hearts when Gou and him started their journey around the world to see the sights and further Gou's photography career and Chase's cooking career they wanted to go into. Chase had found he enjoyed cooking for Gou and Harley and wanted to expand on it.

As Gou was taking pictures of the flower battle royale, Shinnosuke came up to Chase. "So, you two heading out in a few days?"

"Yes. First place we're visiting is France followed by Germany and then England. I've got some lessons with a few chefs and Gou will be taking wildlife pictures for some fancy magazine. We'll probably be gone for a while, unless a certain life event happens that brings us back here."

"Chase… I…I don't know what you're talk…"

Chase smiled at Shinnosuke. "I think I can also speak for Gou when I say this, but I'm looking forward to being an uncle."

Notes:

With this, Don't Lose Your Mind is done. I want to thank all of you for the comments and just really for sticking with this story and reading.

My next story, Chasing Tears, will start being posted next week when I get back from MAGFest.

A few Easter Eggs in this chapter.

Had to mention Koichi Kano; Chase's human he copied.

Chase's outfit is the exact one that Taiko wore in a picture Yu tweeted a while ago. Coincidentally, they were attending a wedding together.

Kiriko's high school "friend" Nero is a reference to the villain in Bloody Sukeban Chainsaw, in which Rio Uchida will be the main character Geeko/Giko in the live action movie.

My OTP in Drive was Rinna/Otta so of course I had them get together.


End file.
